Finance planning discussions

[mearnsy]

Is anyone else struggling to get their other half to sit down and talk calmly and seriously about planning finances for when the baby comes? Any time I try to bring it up he says I'm nagging or says we should talk about it later. He's terrible with money and I'm getting really anxious about how on dart we're going to cope when I'm on SMP only and then not earning.

Any tips welcome.

I can sympathise ... I used to be married to a Jack Flash, treating everyone to drinks and forking out for sharp suits, despite being £10k overdrawn at the bank. If I wanted to talk to him about cutting down it was like I was asking him to get a limb removed..

I think the best place to start is prepation. Get hold of all the documentation like bank and credit card statements for both of you and having a list of all the family outgoings. Spreadsheet income vs outgoings & run up a few 'what ifs' for the drop in income when you go on SMP etc. If you do the donkey work you can then present him with some alternatives... saving him the trouble and stress of having to think about it too closely. If you can distill it down to some simple, un-scary action points and then find a quiet moment when he's happy to listen for five minutes you might stand a chance.

Hope you're successful.

Wise words from Cogito... Might be worth boiling it to two numbers. How much you spend a month and how much you make. Most people know how much they make, but get a real shock when they see their spending. Add to this the 'emergency' funds (or not) and factor in what happens if you need a new boiler, car etc.. Just to depress you further start thinking about when you retire....

Money can be a difficult topic, it's really important to get right, otherwise the stresses can be disastrous!

Well done for addressing and good luck!

Honestly Banking