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Personal Finance
Most Americans Look to Themselves First for Financial Advice
Most also look to outside advisors more than they do their spouses; here's how to improve financial communications with our partners.
(ARA) - You've entrusted your spouse or partner with your life and love. But when it comes to leaning on someone for financial
advice, that's often a different story.
A new survey for A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc., one of the nation's largest investment firms, found that nearly four out of 10
Americans listed themselves as the person they trust the most when it comes to making financial decisions.
The survey, conducted by MarketTools Inc., said 39 percent of respondents trusted themselves the most regarding finances.
Next were professional financial advisors (16 percent); a parent or grandparent (15 percent); and then the respondent's spouse or
partner (13 percent).
Sophie Beckmann, a Certified Financial Planner and CPA with A.G. Edwards, says the fact that financial advisors rank higher
than even spouses as trusted sources of financial advice is eye-opening. But there are a variety of reasons why the "love connection"
doesn't always extend to money.
"People with financial advisors are used to going to them for advice and knowledge about investing; so even if spouses share
financial decisions, their advisor still might be the most trusted consultant or information source," Beckmann says.
In fact, the A.G. Edwards study indicated that among people who have financial advisors, more trust their advisors as a source
of financial acumen than they do themselves -- 41 percent to 31 percent -- while the spouse ranked even lower at 11 percent. "These
findings also may reflect how hard it is for most of us to communicate with our partners about finances," Beckmann says. "We trust
them, but there are a lot of things that can get in the way of good communication about money."
It doesn't have to be that way. Beckmann offers a few tips to help couples communicate about finances:
Get your goals straight, together. Recognize you may be different. This doesn't necessarily mean one of you is from
Mars and the other from Venus. But you should understand that each of you may have a different tolerance for financial discussions.
Try to accommodate each other's preferences when you discuss finances.
A nice KISS. Some spouses prefer to leave most of the financial planning to their partner, but they also want to be kept
informed -- a key element of building trust. But Keep It Simple Spouses: Provide brief, regular updates about investment performance
and savings and checking accounts to ensure that you and your spouse have a common understanding of your current financial situation
and your progress toward your long-term goals.
Seek counseling. Just as with any other issues couples might face, having an expert, neutral third party to listen and
provide advice typically is helpful. A professional financial consultant can take into account not only your financial goals but
also your "Investment Personality" -- your personal preferences and comfort levels for such elements as risk, how long you plan
on investing and so on. By recognizing each individual's Investment Personality, it will be easier to map out strategies that
make the most sense for you and to identify how best to communicate with each other about finances.
It takes time. The A.G. Edwards survey also found that most financial conversations between couples take place during
leisure time, especially on weekends, during dinner and before bed. Jointly decide the times that work best for you and your
spouse and make it a regular part of your routines during non-stressful times.
Take it easy. If you're going to take leisure time to talk about finances, reduce the "work" aspect of the conversation
by having it in a relaxing setting -- over a take-out meal, while lounging on the porch or maybe while walking the dog.
Start early, stay flexible. The best time to figure out how to interact regarding finances is early in your
relationship to avoid falling into patterns that don't please one or both of you. But realize that as time goes by, it
may work better for your roles or the way you communicate about finances to change. Check in with each other every once
in a while to see whether you need to update your financial routines.
Courtesy of ARA Content
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