3 Financial Conversations You and Your Partner Should Have Every Year

Whether you're married or in a committed relationship, you and your partner need to be in sync on several key issues. And many of those are financial in nature. With that in mind, here are three money-related conversations you and your partner should have every year.

1. The "How's our debt?" conversation

U.S. consumers aren't exactly strangers to debt. For example, as of late 2023, almost 170 million consumers carried a credit card balance, according to TransUnion.

But carrying debt can be stressful. And it also has the potential to strain a relationship. So if you and your partner are carrying debt, it's important to get to a place where you can feel better about it.

And you don't necessarily have to be debt-free to get to that place. If you're making good progress on your credit card balances, for example, that may be enough to do good things for your outlook.

The point, however, is to make sure that you're both feeling OK with where you are in the context of debt. This doesn't just mean talking about how much of an existing loan or balance you've paid. It could also mean discussing potential debts that you're looking to take on, like a mortgage.

2. The "Are we meeting our goals?" conversation

It's not a given that you and your partner share the exact same financial priorities. Maybe your primary financial objective is to buy a house in the next two years, while your partner's top objective is to start funding a retirement account.

Either way, it's important to support each other's goals and check in on the ones you're working toward jointly. If you find that you're not making great progress, put your heads together and see if spending changes might lead to different results. For example, if you're trying to save a certain amount of money to buy a new car, you may decide jointly to put a temporary ban on restaurant meals, cook at home, and bank the difference.

3. The "Are we happy with our lifestyle?" conversation

Being generally content with your lifestyle could help your relationship thrive. But if you're both miserable, or if one of you is miserable, that's something you'll want to talk through.

Maybe you're doing OK financially, but it's coming at the expense of your mental health because you work a demanding job that leaves you with very little downtime. Or maybe your partner is tired of their boring job and wants to do something more exciting that would require a pay cut or require them to work odd hours (for example, such as if they want to turn their love of music into a career by starting a band for hire).

Perhaps you're living comfortably, but aren't feeling financially secure. You may, in that case, decide to downsize to a smaller rental so you can allocate more money to your savings account.

Or, you both might feel like you're actually saving too much and aren't spending enough of your income in ways that could be making your lives happier. For example, maybe you and your partner jointly earn $150,000 and are trying to aggressively save $50,000 a year for retirement. But if that's making it so you're never able to go out to eat or take a vacation, you may need to rethink that plan.

Being on the same page financially is a great way to keep your relationship strong. So schedule time with your partner to have these key financial conversations at least once a year -- or more frequently if you feel the need.