Setting a date to talk about finances with your significant other isn’t the sexiest thing in the world.   But having a frank conversation about your money can do wonders for your relationship.

I realized a couple of months ago that our finances had gotten a bit off track.  We were spending more than we were saving.  So one afternoon, while my parents took our boys, my husband and I spent a couple of hours talking about our finances.

We came away from our financial “date” with renewed purpose.  We have some plans in place and are working to make those goals a reality.

Talking about finances isn’t always easy.  But you have to start somewhere.  I thought I’d share how our “date” went.

We started with the cold hard facts.  This meant we shared exactly what money we had coming in, what expenses we had, any debts we had (in our case, just the mortgage), and the status of our savings and retirement funds.

Once we had these figures in front of us, we were able to identify trouble spots and brainstorm ways to improve in these areas. We also took note of things that we were doing well so that we can continue to do those things.

We then laid out long-term and short-term financial goals.  For example, we have some long-term goals that involve saving for retirement… and in the short-term, we’d love to be able to save up some money to travel.  In between there is our goal to save up to pay cash for our next vehicle.

Once we had some goals in mind, we laid out concrete steps we could take to make progress on those goals.

We’ll meet on a regular basis to fine-tune our plans as our financial situation changes.

Having a financial date wasn’t the most fun thing ever, but it did bring us closer together.  We were able to talk about the things that matter most to us and chart a path for our future.