Whenever an individual is meeting with financial planners to discuss their finances and manage them, that person might overlook the fact that their financial situation affects more than just them. Whatever levels of stress and anxiety they have relating to their finances and the potential for that to seriously affect both their mental and physical health, it also has to be membered that other members of their family may be adversely affected too.
Obviously, each person’s circumstances will be different depending on their age, marital status, and domestic situation. Some will be married, living with a partner, they may also have children, and there are those whose parents live nearby.
In all these circumstances, and any other you might think of, when there is financial stress affecting one member of the family, it can negatively affect them all. This does not just apply to the financial health of the family, but as has been well documented, including in many medical journals and texts, there is a direct correlation between financial stress and poor mental and physical health.
Whilst talking to a financial planner is a great first step in trying to manage your finances, given that their advice and the financial plan they suggest will impact all in your household, you must be open with everyone affected. It is worth mentioning that even the act of sharing concerns with others can bring some relief to those bottling up their worries and concerns about their finances.
As for how you talk to your family about finances, be it yours or there’s it is not a case that one size fits all. In other words, depending on your relationship with each person in your family who may be affected, you should talk to them in a way that best helps reduce their anxiety related to the financial position in question. Below are three examples of what we mean.
Talking With Your Partner Or Spouse About Finances
Relationships are often at their most fragile when tension and stress result from financial concerns and worries. Whilst financial planners will be able to help with the practicalities of your finances, the emotional recovery needs to be a joint effort. Both of you must agree to be completely open and honest with each other even if it means you each hear some uncomfortable home truths.
Thankfully, just the act of talking can reduce stress levels and if you both are committed to sorting your finances as you are to each other, your relationship, and your finances both have a brighter future.
Talking With Your Children About Finances
Here, we are talking about children of any age, from teenagers up to your adult children. As their parent, you should never shy away from having frank discussions about money, even if there are problems. Again, this is an example of releasing tension by sharing a problem with someone who cares for you.
Younger children and teenagers will benefit enormously from having talks about family budgets and having some understanding of how to manage finances. As for adult children, they will surely be reassured if they know that you have discussed your retirement planning with a financial planner. It may even give them the push to do likewise.
Talking With Your Parents About Finances
These are the talks that many find the most awkward and it is true that if you admire and respect your parents, bringing up the issue of their financial difficulties might not always be the easiest subject to broach.
However, you must do so, especially if you are aware that one or both of your parents have high stress levels, or worse, mental health issues brought on by worries about money. Whether you can help them financially or not, you can at least take them to see a financial planner who will advise them what solutions are available.
