Remember when you were a lovestruck teenager, you’d find the boy you liked and do compatibility tests to figure out if you were destined to run off into the sunset together? I seem to remember one in particular where you wrote down both your full names, assigned a number to each letter, added them together and then the higher your resulting score, the more likely you were to fall in love and have babies.
Obviously such highly scientific tests as these never amounted to anything, but there is something to be said for figuring out how compatible you are with a person before the relationship gets serious.
So when the peeps at Experian emailed me to let me know about their new financial compatibility guide, the money and relationship quiz, I couldn’t resist downing tools and giving it a whirl for myself.
It is still just a bit of fun, but there is a serious message behind the idea too. If you’re not on the same page with your future spouse on big issues such as money, children, or lifestyle choices, it is very likely the relationship will not last. Gareth and I actually did a pre-marriage course to make sure we spoke about and worked through any of our differences before we made such a big commitment. It felt a bit strange at first because when you’re engaged all you really want to be thinking about is dresses, flowers and cake, but it was definitely the best thing we’ve ever done for our relationship.
Money, and your individual attitudes to it, is a particularly important aspect to discuss. Even if you plan to keep a lot of your finances separate, arguments about bills, debts or one partner’s perceived overspending can make or break the marriage. When you join up your finances, your credit reports also become linked – which may affect both of your chances of getting credit if one of you has a less than perfect history. Plus, did you know financial strains are actually cited to be one of the most common factors to relationship breakdowns?!
So while you should certainly take the results of this quiz with a pinch of salt, I would like to encourage you to give it a go and then sit down with your partner and discuss any inconsistencies. It’s not all doom and gloom – I promise! It’s more about being open and honest and on the same page from the start. After all is that what being married is all about?
I’d love to hear from you guys on this one too. Have you done any pre-marriage preparation?
