Money and arguments about money are major causes of conflict in marriage and one of the leading causes of divorce. Communication and planning is the key to healthy money management in relationships. Here’s how love and money can work together.
If you take the time to think about your relationships and identify the times when you had some significant disagreements, you may find that the issue of money played a leading role. Whether you are dating, married, divorced or single, money will be up for discussion.
Your money management views and how they affect others are just one piece of the puzzle. While making sure bills are paid and money is earned is important, you also need to take care of the risk factors that can affect your family. For example, if you are the main source of income, you need to make contingencies in case you are no longer around. Sadly South Africans do not make this a priority, according to statistics released by ASISA (The Association for Savings and Investment South Africa) South Africans had a death and disability insurance shortfall of R24 trillion. This means that individuals have an average life cover shortfall of R700 000 per average income earner and a disability cover shortfall of R1.1 million.
Making provision for someone you care about gives you and them peace of mind. Many people argue that they cannot afford risk insurance when they regularly spend hundreds of rands on entertainment and fast food. Some small adjustments to your budget will easily free up enough cash to put the cover in place.
Second marriages can be particularly stressful if one or both parties have children that they need to take care of, especially when you talk about inheritance. If a couple remarries the respective partners may feel that the assets of the other should be transferred to them and not the children, in the event of death. This sticky situation can easily be resolved by both partners taking out a life policy with each other as beneficiaries; leaving their assets intact to pass down to their children.
It is easy to become caught up in day-to-day activities and lose sight of this important element of financial planning. To ensure that you have your “rands in a row” plan to review your insurance and investment status at the same time each year. Your circumstances will change from year to year so adjustments and tweaks will need to be made.
Hollard Life Assurance Company (Reg. No. 1993/001405/06) is an authorised Financial Services Provider.
