How to avoid money related family conflicts: Psychologist's advice
Illustrative photo (Freepik)
The financial aspect of relationships is a crucially important factor, as many couples find themselves at odds when it comes to managing money.
Psychologist Dmytro Ostapenko shared some tips on how to avoid family conflicts over finances.
How to avoid money related family conflicts
When a husband and wife begin discussing finances, they can use a mega-useful exercise that will impact all areas of their lives, not just financial ones.
"Agree on key terms when you talk about the family budget," says the psychologist.
According to the psychologist, this is important because when partners discuss the family budget, certain associations should arise.
"When we talk about a budget or a family budget, that is, any expenses, people who have been married for 20 years may have different concepts and ideas about what these words mean. For example, a woman may think that the family budget is when the husband makes money, and his money is family money, but if the woman makes money too, then that money is just hers, especially during maternity leave. And this can lead to irritation in the husband," says the psychologist.
Dmytro also says that there are many situations where they didn’t agree in advance that shared money is shared money.
Photo: Freepik
"You need to learn to agree on key concepts, that is, what is our joint budget, whether we stick to any budget at all and what we spend it on," Ostapenko explains.
The psychologist shared an exercise where he and his wife sit down at the beginning of the month and make a list of what needs to be bought, and if something is needed spontaneously, they talk it through together.
"In this way, when people agree and realize that they have a joint budget, they will have hundreds of times fewer conflicts regarding finances than when everyone thinks about their own things and without talking about it to the other person," sums up the psychologist.
