PLOTTING
YO U R F U T U R E
MARRIAGE& FINANCIAL BLISS
ENTREPRENEURSHIP A few months ago, I attended the wedding of one of my closest friends. It was a stunning afternoon affair in the middle of a beautiful garden, filled with smiles and laughter. The wedding bordered on perfection, perfect gown, perfect cake, love that was literally bursting out at the seams and a Bajan reception of fun, frolic and wuk-ups till morning. It was wonderful to be able to share in their special moment, but not long after the honeymoon they got into their first fight attempting to iron out the finances, a difficult and sometimes scary topic for new couples & entrepreneurs to broach. Money is often a tumultuous issue for us as individuals, and moving forward as a couple to share past debts or to incur new debt for varying goals & for a business, would be complicated to say the least. In fact, studies list money as the number one issue that couples argue about, and the number one issue that they split-up over. The truth is, couples are expected to argue, about many things, including money! The key, is how you argue, what you communicate and what is resolved as a result. Both couples and businesses have ups and downs and a sound 3 1 - E V O LV I N G B U S I N E S S
plan at home can bring comfort to a family if your small business or partner is struggling.
Communicate from the Get-Go In any strong businesses or relationship, good communication is key. It may seem obvious, but many couples neglect to ask their partners the simple questions early on which would alert them to the challenges which may lie ahead. • Have you finished paying for your MBA? • What is the monthly payment of your vehicle? • Do you have other outstanding loans? • What Debts will the business incur? • Essentially… how much debt do you have? • What will we be bringing to the relationship or taking to the business? These topics, which may make others feel uneasy, are often important to financial growth. Start by making an ordered list of all the debts
previously incurred as well as those you expect to incur, from there discussion on interest rates and monthly payments as well as varying methods of debt reduction will go a long way.
Avoid Keeping Financial Secrets Along with sharing debt information, share expected salary and savings figures and converse on any other assets which you may have or need for the business. Maintaining complete honesty will help strengthen the relationship in the long run.
Determine how to merge two financial affairs One of the first hurdles couples often tackle is whether to combine monthly earnings, or keep accounts separate (while sharing household expenses and bills). While the latter gives couples some freedom to spend, no one option is considered wrong or right.
