Managing Your Money and Your Relationships

Kiplinger says “ Want to Protect Your Wealth? Then Manage Your Relationships,” noting that the way you relate to yourself and others can affect your financial outlook.

The very first person who may mismanage your money is…you. It helps to know your own habits and shortcomings and to be honest about them to maintain wealth. Otherwise, it is easy to fool yourself into thinking that you are a better money manager than you actually are. And if you think this advice is just about not overspending, think again: someone who is risk-averse may also jeopardize their financial future by refusing to invest and grow their money. So whether you spend too much or leave all your money under a mattress, you could benefit from the advice of a trusted Fee-Only financial planner.

The next category of relationships discussed in the article is personal and professional partnerships. Perhaps you automatically think about how costly divorce or the end of domestic partnership could be but have you considered what happens when business partners split:

“Marriages and business partnerships are just as important as the partnership you have with yourself. The rates of divorce and separation are higher than ever, reaching almost 50%. And business partnerships have an even worse track record, with an almost 70% failure rate.”

Obviously, you want to choose well when picking partners in life or in business but since things and people do change, you can consider what kind of legal agreement would work for you and not leave you financially bereft if a personal or professional partnership does not last.

The article concludes with discussing “the next generation” and what you can do to keep those relationships on track. One important step is to “ensure that your children are financially literate and trained in the responsibility of wealth.” This, plus investing time in your relationship with your children are things that you have control over. You can also do your best to keep sibling rivalry to a minimum as they grow and as you take on estate planning.

©Bring Clarity to Your Finances. Managing Your Money and Your Relationships is a post from Bring Clarity to Your Finances