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Posts Tagged ‘the money couple’

5 Questions Every Parent Needs to Ask Before Helping a Child Get Out of Debt

Monday, August 16th, 2010

We don’t sound the debt alarm very often, but when it comes to young adult children asking their parents for help with debt, well, the alarm bells start ringing!

These days, even 19-year-olds can be riddled with debt. Student loans, car loans, credit card debt can add up quickly, leaving young people buried in debt before they’ve even cashed their first paychecks. Sadly, debt follows young people for a long time.

As parents, you have to make some tough decisions about how much help to give your child when she ends up deep in debt. Before you write a check, ask yourselves these questions:

1. Where did this debt come from?

2. Have we bailed our child out before?

3. How can we help our child think differently about spending, saving, and debt?

4. When should reality hit?

5. How can we use this conversation to strengthen our relationship with our child?

Read the details in this week’s Money Couple Minute HERE.

Read all the Money Couple Minutes HERE.

View the Money Couple interview answering viewer questions.

Tags: financial communication, helping children financially, helping kids out of debt, kids and money, money communication, the money couple
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Step-kids and College: 5 Ways to Make Sure Everyone is Happy

Monday, July 5th, 2010

Figuring out how to pay for your child’s college education can be a major financial headache. Add the complex dynamics of a blended family to that situation and the stress level can go through the roof!

But it doesn’t have to be that way. With some honest conversation, a clear plan, and a solid sense of reality, you can find your way through the sometimes-choppy process of making financial decisions with your child’s other parents without creating new problems.

Get the 5 keys to a successful arrangement HERE.

View all the Money Couple Minutes HERE.

Tags: college costs, college saving, financial communication, kids and giving, kids and money, kids and spending, money communication, overspending, step-kids and college, the money couple
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Should You Go Into Business Together? 5 Secrets to Making It Work…

Monday, June 21st, 2010

For many couples, the idea of working together sounds heavenly. But we’ve seen so many life partners try to be business partners only to find that their finances - and their relationships - can’t survive the shift.

There are, however, couples who can make a business work–we work together and love it. So if the two of you are considering starting a business together, here’s what you need to know:

1. You Must Be Equals
2. Know What’s Really Involved
3. Capitalize On Each Other’s Strengths
4. This Is a Financial Decision, Not an Emotional One
5. Have Regular Business Meetings

Read the entire Money Couple Minute including the full details under each point mentioned at “Should You Go Into Business Together?” You can view all the past Money Couple Minutes HERE.

Tags: financial communication, go into business together, money communication, money secrets, the money couple
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4 Tips to Help You with the Not-So-Empty Nest

Monday, April 12th, 2010

Close to 14 million adult children are still living at home. These kids are called “The Boomerang Generation” and for good reason. Just when you think they’re gone, they come flying back.

As much as you love your kids, there comes a time when you’re ready for them to move into adulthood. When they aren’t quite ready—emotionally, socially, and financially—it’s hard to know what to do with them. Do you let them move in? Should they pay you? What about chores? The boundaries are beyond fuzzy and will be defined differently from family-to-family and from child-to-child.

Life with a boomerang child can be a valuable experience for you and your child if you follow a few basic guidelines…Read the entire Money Couple Minute “4 Tips to Help You with the Not-So-Empty Nest” HERE.

Tags: empty nest, financial communication, kids returning home, money communication, money huddle, money personalities, the money couple
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Is There Life After Foreclosure? 4 Steps to Recovery

Monday, March 15th, 2010

We are meeting with lots of couples in this situation and seeing the stress this huge upheaval can cause in a relationship. If you’re losing your home, here’s how to pick up the pieces and move forward.

1. Grieve the loss - Get the complete details in this Money Couple Minute HERE.
2. Avoid the blame game - Find out how to avoid this pitfall in this Money Couple Minute HERE.
3. Decide how public you want to make this news - Learn how to decide together what the best plan is in this Money Couple Minute HERE.
4. Take some time off - What does it mean to take time off? Get some practical advice in this Money Couple Minute HERE.

Watch the Money Couple talk about “Life After Foreclosure” in this video from ABC News Now:

Tags: 4 steps to foreclosure recovery, financial communication, financial mistrust, foreclosure, life after foreclosure, money communication, the money couple
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5 Financial Resolutions You Shouldn’t Make

Monday, January 4th, 2010

Getting out of debt is one of the most common New Year’s resolutions—it’s right up there with losing weight. And like losing weight, it’s a resolution that, more often than not, is broken before January comes to an end.

Everyone should set financial goals for their families. In setting these goals, it is important to be smart about the kind of goals you set and your plans for meeting those goals.

Briefly, here are the 5 financial resolutions you shouldn’t make for 2010. Read the entire Money Couple Minute HERE to get all the details for each one.

1. We Will Spend Less

2. We Will Not Fight About Money

3. We Will Have Our Finances Under Control By April

4. We Will Have a Perfect Budget

5. This is the Year We Get Out of Debt

Again, there are full descriptions of each of these resolutions not to make. You can find them in this week’s Money Couple Minute.

Tags: 5 financial resolutions you shouldn't make, breaking the budget, financial communication, financial infidelity, individual investments, money communication, the money couple
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How to Handle Holiday Spending?

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

For many couples, the holidays are a minefield of difficult money decisions. How do we stick to a budget and still give meaningful gifts? Do we really need to buy a gift for Great Aunt Martha? Where are we going to get the money to pay for all of this stuff?

With so many money-based decisions coming in the midst of all the other stressful events of the holiday season, it’s more important than ever that your financial communication stays strong.

Start this holiday season with a Money Huddle to check in on expectations and create a spending plan that won’t leave you broke come January. The Money Huddle will help you get on track and prioritize your spending. It will also keep you from out of control spending because you will be able to determine goals and limits ahead of time.

Discover the strategies to create your gift list, set spending limits, plan your time to shop, learn how weekly check-ins help, and how your Money Personalities will affect how you and your spouse handle your holiday spending in this weeks Money Couple Minute: How to Handle Holiday Spending.

Tags: Add new tag, Christmas spending, financial budget, financial communication, financial infidelity, gift spending, holiday spending, money communication, money huddle, overspending, overspending at holidays, the money couple
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Investments vs. Cash in Hand…Which is Better?

Saturday, September 19th, 2009

Financial decisions are rarely all-or-nothing prospects. If you’ve been investing in your retirement or a college fund, there’s no reason why you can’t pull back for a few months while you ride out the downturn. However, make sure you’re taking advantage of any matching programs offered by your employer whenever possible. Read the entire Money Couple Minute regarding investing vs. cash in hand to find out more tips to help you determine whether investments or cash in hand makes the most sense for your relationship and goals.

Tags: cash in hand, financial communication, investing, money communication, the money couple
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Are Separate Accounts a Good Idea?

Friday, September 4th, 2009

Separate accounts can be very helpful. They make it easy to see who’s spending what. But they can also open the door to hidden spending and other secrets that are the core of financial infidelity. Remember, strong financial communication is based in partnership. If you’re going to have separate accounts make sure you keep each other up-to-date as to where that money’s going.

Read the entire Money Couple Minute on separate accounts. Discover the simple tools you can use to help keep your financial relationship on track whether you decide to use separate accounts or not.

Tags: financial communication, financial infidelity, money huddle, money secrets, separate accounts, the money couple
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The Five Categories of Financial Infidelity

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

The five categories of financial infidelity are affecting relationships all over world. These categories include: overspending and debt, financial separation, lack of planning, control, and money secrets. Get detailed descriptions on the five categories in the Money Couple Minute, “The Five Categories of Financial Infidelity”. Also, you can watch the Money Couple on ABC’s News Now program on the segment, “Good Money,” as they go into more detail and answer viewer questions relating to the five categories of financial infidelity.

Tags: debt, five categories financial infidelity, money secrets, overspending, the money couple
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