Focus on Finances

"Money is power, freedom, a cushion, the root of all evil, and the sum of blessings." - Carl Sandburg

Oftentimes finances are an area of concern and/or stress for couples. In addition they may be an area of stress for Facilitators! How do I, a Facilitator, help couples have meaningful, skill-building dialogue around money? PREPARE/ENRICH has several resources to help you unpack and mine the assessment results around money.

1. Follow up questions that align with the assessment items:

I am concerned that my partner is more of a spender than I am.

What are your spending habits now?
What were the spending habits of your family?
How do both of you believe money should be spent? Do you agree or disagree?
What factors influence how you spend money?
What will happen 15 or 20 years down the road if there is no change in your spending habits?

We haven't decided how to handle our finances yet.

Who will make the decision in regards to how you handle your finances?
How will you set up your checking account(s)?
How do you plan to spend, save, and/or give away a portion of your income?
How can you work toward a financial plan?

I have some concerns about whether our income will be sufficient.

Have each of you shared the details of your expected income and expenditures after you marry?
What are your greatest concerns about your future income?
Do you plan to make any adjustments to your lifestyle after marriage?

My partner tries to control the money we have.

Is this a good or bad thing for you? Why?
What do you believe may motivate your partner's behavior?
How may the way you each orient yourselves around money influence this issue of control?

Want to see all of the follow up questions? Click here to view a PDF.

2. Exercises from the Workbook for Couples

Uncover similarities and differences around the meaning of money
Identify financial priorities and align them with habits
Develop a sense of teamwork around money
Help couples be in control of their spending (NEW! Excel Budget template, Hoja de trabajo del presupuesto)

3. Discussion Guide with questions to ask or assign the couple to talk about on their own.

This is a new resource geared for couples to use on their own
Money is one of fourteen discussion topics
Other topics include:

Communication
Commitment
Forgiveness

4. We are constantly thinking about resources you can provide to your couples. We want your couples to be one step ahead in their relationship. Have your couples check out some articles we wrote about finances on our blog so they can stay connected!

If you find yourself frequently talking finances with couples, and you are looking for additional resources - try our Better Halves product located in our bookstore.