In episode 013 of the Are They 18 Yet?™ Podcast, I sit down with my husband Joe as we share how we handled conversations on some difficult topics when we first got together.
Joe was a single dad when we met (Olivia was 3), and having a child in the picture had a huge impact the way he approached dating.
But as a single person, I remember thinking there were certain “dating rules” you’re supposed to follow.
Things like “don’t call for 48 hours after the first date”.
One that really stood out to me was “don’t talk about certain topics right away”.
Before Joe and I met, we both dated people who got uncomfortable or ghosted us because we broached “off-limits” topics right away.
But seeing as how we’re both “no-BS” kind of people, we tackled some of the difficult conversations right away when we first started dating and broke all the rules about “off-limits for a first date” kind of topics.
And spoiler alert, neither one of us freaked out or ghosted 🙂
Things like parenting philosophies, how we wanted to live our lives, and how we feel about money.
That’s why in episode 013, we talk about how we handled the money conversation early on, in addition to how we continue to manage our finances and talk about money with Olivia.
I firmly believe that if you are in a relationship, one of the keys to being a good parent is having a strong relationship with your partner.
One of the most common arguments in romantic partnerships has to do with money; so being on the same page can eliminate a ton of drama future down the line.
In this conversation, we talk about:
✅What it was like for Joe dating as a single parent, and what he did to gauge whether or not people had what he was looking for in a partner.
✅What it was like for me as a single person thinking about joining an existing family unit (including my cold feet about parenting).
✅How dating was different when a child was involved, and why we both adopted a direct, no-BS policy right away.
✅How having the hard conversations early on helped to ease my anxiety about parenting.
✅Our financial system we use for spending, saving, and investing (and how we use it to eliminate arguments before they start).
✅Our philosophies on “guilt free” spending, and how we allow each other freedom with spending (and still take care of the important stuff).
✅How we talk to Olivia about money; including what we wish we would have learned about money as kids.
If you want to build a stronger relationship with your partner AND help your kids grow up with a healthy relationship with money, I know you’ll enjoy this episode.
You can listen to the entire conversation here:
In this episode, I mentioned a couple resources that Joe and I like to use to guide our personal finance strategy.
The first was Ramit Sethi. He has a great blog called I Will Teach You to Be Rich and book on personal finance, and he’s where I learned about the concept of “money dials (kind of like love languages for money). His resources have had a big impact on the system we use to manage our finances.
The second thing I mentioned is Dave Ramsey’s resources. We haven’t used his system as a couple, but we did use one of his resources for kids that helps them learn about earning, spending, saving, and investing.
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The Time Tracking Journal walks you through a strategy you can do in just 10-15 minutes a day that will help kids get tasks done effectively and efficiently, and critical thinking skills and self-confidence at the same time. You can learn how to get instant access here.