Posts Tagged ‘PayPal’
Valentine’s Day Tips #9 and #10 for Love and Money
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Author: This is the last entry of 5 sets of “Valentine’s Day Tips for Love and Money” geared to help you achieve financial harmony in your relationship. Read the first set here, the second here, the third here and the fourth here.
9. Retirement happens. Plan Accordingly. Given the current financial crisis, younger generations are worried most about not having enough to live the way they want to, while those over 45 worry more about having resources for old age and retirement. The under-45 crowd could learn a lot from its elders. There’s no time like the present to start saving for retirement, especially for couples. Sit down together and evaluate your respective 401K plans, then make your collective contributions to the plan that offers the best benefits – higher employee matching, for example —instead of each contributing blindly to your separate accounts. If you have maxed out the matching options under one 401K, and still have extra funds to put toward retirement, then consider other investment options, such as the other spouse’s retirement plan if employee-matching is available there. Free money in the way of matching, tax credits, tax deductions, tax-deferred savings, should typically win out over those that don’t offer such benefits .
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Valentine’s Day Tips #7 and #8 for Love and Money
This is the fourth of 5 sets of “Valentine’s Day Tips for Love and Money.” Read the first set here, the second here and the third here. Come back tomorrow for the final of the 10 tips to help you achieve financial harmony in your relationship.
7. The first date is awkward enough – the first check doesn’t have to be. For those on a first date this Valentine’s Day, be sure to manage expectations about who pays the check before the waiter comes looking inquisitively at the two of you. In a PayPal study, men were more likely to say that they should pay for the first date, but women were more likely to say that the bill should be paid equally or through some split not based on gender. Agreeing in advance on a payment plan that pleases everyone could eliminate some of the check-dividing awkwardness, which could even increase the likelihood of a “Date #2.”
Valentine’s Day Tips #5 and #6 for Love and Money
This is the third of 5 sets of “Valentine’s Day Tips for Love and Money.” Read the first set here and the second here. Come back each week day this week for more tips to help you achieve financial harmony in your relationship.
5. In love and money, old stereotypes about men and women die hard. More than one-third of the women surveyed by PayPal said they share primary income responsibility with their partners, but only about a quarter of men said the same. What gives? Is he understating her contributions or overstating his own?
Don’t let stereotypical disconnects between women and men’s money-making abilities wreak havoc on your relationship. Talk to each other about the contributions you each make to the shared bottom line: be clear and be honest. Make sure you’re on the same page in your financial planning and always resist the urge to be competitive.
Valentine’s Day Tips #3 and #4 for Love and Money
This is the second of 5 sets of “Valentine’s Day Tips for Love and Money.” Read the first set here and come back each week day this week for more tips to help you achieve financial harmony in your relationship.
3. Get to know each other’s money personalities. For the third year in a row, money is the leading reason American couples fight; notably, however, half of the time couples didn’t have their first fight about money until after they were engaged or married. While it’s always best to talk about your financial values as early as possible in a new relationship, remember that it’s never too late to get to know each other’s money personalities. If you’re saving for a vacation to Hawaii but he won’t take a day off until you have enough to retire there, don’t despair: there is always a middle ground. Identify each of your best spending habits and agree to meet halfway, each adopting what’s best about the other. (To discover your own money personality, as well as your partner’s, take my Money Personality Quiz, available under the “Free Info” section at www.TheMoneyCoach.net).
4. Make a plan for getting out of debt together. If the current recession has taught us anything, it’s that “debt” is a dirtier word than anyone had imagined, and yet over half of American couples enter relationships with debt. Now more than ever it’s time to get serious about money management and debt elimination. Sit down with your partner and make a realistic plan for getting out of debt together, then stick to it no matter what.
