Investing in Your Relationship

When we were working on reaching Financial Freedom, we found that investing in our relationship was just as important as paying off debt. When you take the time to invest in your relationship, it not only brings you closer together, but makes your relationship stronger for the good times and the bad.

We were intentional and invested time, energy and money into our relationship. We focused on growing together and designing our life with purpose. Of course this helped us have a better relationship. But investing in our relationship as a couple, also led to us reaching our goal of Financial Freedom faster!

If you and your husband or wife have a shared goal of Financial Freedom, we recommend investing in your relationship.This doesn’t always mean spending money, but it does require a commitment to working on the relationship.

What Does it Mean to Invest in Your Relationship?

There are a lot of ways to invest in your relationship with your significant other, but what does it really mean to invest in your relationship?

To invest means to devote time, effort, or resources to a specific undertaking, expecting a worthwhile result. 

Of course in finance we’re quite familiar with the concept of investing. To invest means to devote time, effort, or resources to a specific undertaking, expecting a worthwhile result. Most often we see this as an investment of our money in the present, for a return on that investment at a time in the future. 

We understand the importance of contributing to our retirement funds so that we can invest in the stock market. We see the impressive proof of things like compound interest and time in the market. But we are far less familiar with what it means to invest in our most important asset – our relationship with our significant other.

One of the things that can impact your Net Worth the most is who you marry. (No, we’re not talking about marrying for money.) The reason this is important is because this relationship will have the biggest impact on the rest of your life. How you and your spouse are able to come together and discuss financial matters and plan for the future, has a huge impact on your ability to build wealth together and design the life you both dream of.

Investing in your relationship is similar to investing in anything else. An investment of time, effort and resources in an already valuable asset, with the goal of an increased net wealth as a future outcome.

Why you should invest in your relationship

Working together as a couple navigating finances can be tough. But it is also one of the most critical aspects of having a happy long lasting relationship. 

Statistics about money and marriage don’t look good. Some research shows that of all marriages that end in divorce – “Money arguments are the second leading cause of divorce, behind infidelity.” Not only are money arguments a leading cause of divorce – they suck! So even if having a higher Net Worth isn’t a huge motivator – the absence of friction in your relationship sounds pretty good! 

This is why investing in your relationship should be prioritized if you have a goal as a couple to improve your finances. Talking about money is emotionally charged and can get heated fast! When you invest in your relationship and learn to have effective communication about challenging issues, you will not only reach your financial goals faster, but eliminate resentment and bitterness building in your relationship along the way.

Investing in your relationship helps you reach Financial Goals

Investing in your relationship doesn’t have a direct or measurable ROI (return on investment). But more surveys show that married couples who manage their finances together, enjoy a higher Net Worth than those who  cohabitate. 

This is powerful information when considering how to manage money in your relationship. While also making the case for investing in your relationship for the sake of handling complicated challenges together, with the goal of a greater outcome than if you had not invested in the relationship. 

It is easy to see how this translates to helping you reach your financial goals. By improving your communication skills, learning how to trust each other and support one another, these all help you work together to reach your shared goal of Financial Freedom!

Investing in your relationship with your husband/wife helps you work together to reach your shared goal of Financial Freedom!

Ways to Invest in Your Relationship

1) Manage Money Together

Up until this point, we’ve been making the case for investing in your relationship with the goal of managing money as a couple. But managing money together actually pulls dual-duty. Learning to manage finances together is also a great way to invest in your relationship. 

Managing your money together turns a sore subject into an opportunity to work together and build the life you both want. It helps improve communication about money, because you are engaging in these conversations. That communication eliminates old assumptions and creates a better environment for trust and understanding.

2) Listen to Podcasts

Believe it or not, listening to podcasts can be a great way to invest in your relationship. They are excellent conversation starters and a sort of shared experience that gives you an opportunity to connect. Listening to podcasts gives us the opportunity to discuss the topics of the podcast and share our personal thoughts.

We often listen to episodes together about shared interests and goals. These help us develop a plan for reaching our goals, as well as find ways to work together or support one another. It definitely helps keep conversations interesting as we share our thoughts on what was discussed in the episode.

We also listen to podcasts about the other person’s interests as a way of showing we care about what they care about. For instance, when I was struggling to get a good night’s sleep, Dylan sought out podcasts about the topic. He then shared what he learned with me and suggested I listen to the episodes as well. I applied many of the suggestions and they worked great. It meant so much that Dylan researched solutions to my problem! 

3) Read Books Together

Similar to listening to podcasts together, we like to have our own mini book club for two. 

If you’re a radcoaches superfan, you already know that we are obsessed with reading books and learning new things. We have no shortage of reading lists* (*this is an affiliate link) for you to peruse about a variety of topics. 

But you may not know that Dylan and I read these books together in our own little mini book club. Working through the book together we will read at the same pace and take time to discuss the story or the thoughts presented in the book. This is powerful when reading a book about relationships, or a shared goal you are working toward together.

4) Create a Couples Vision Board

If you have a dream for the life you want to design together as a couple, then a couples vision board is a great way to set goals together and invest in your relationship! 

When you have big goals and dreams, it takes a lot of clarity and focus to see it through to fruition. That is why we are big fans of creating a vision board as a couple. Not only is it a fun activity where you get to be creative. But making a vision board is an exercise in setting your intentions and narrowing your focus for who you want to become and how you want to show up in the world as a couple.

5) Schedule Quality Time

We’re not talking peak experiences, vacations or even date nights. This is quality time for the sake of quality time. The daily check-ins and communication that strong relationships are built on. This is where the rubber meets the road. 

For us, daily quality time is over a shared cup of coffee in the morning. We discuss our morning devotional, things we’re learning/working on and “How it’s going”. We also preview the day/week and ensure we communicate needs for how the day is going to look. This is quality time that also sets us up for success as a couple and as business partners.

In addition to our morning routine, years ago in an effort to improve our sleep habits we started going tech free in the evening. It is a total game changer! 

At 8pm all tech is off and it’s time to wind down. After a long day when energy is low it’s time spent reading, journaling and reflecting on how our day went. This relaxing quality time is when we share what we’re grateful for and what the “best part of our day was” to end the day on a positive note.

Now we know, we’re DINK’s that work from home – and that allows us a lot more time freedom than most. But even if you can’t do this daily that’s OK. But we suggest looking for ways to buy your time back and make the investment in this habit.

BONUS: Find a Couples Retreat

If you’re like us, you view a couples retreat as awkward and something only couples with “problems” would do. But boy have we changed our minds! Couples retreats are not for struggling couples. These retreats are for couples who want to take their relationship to the next level and go from good to great!

Last year we completed a few virtual couples programs. One by The Yoga Couple called Nama-stay Together and another by Tony Robbins. Both were positive experiences that helped to better our relationship together. 

Now our goal is to find retreats that align with our goals as a couple and in the future can be in person. We see the value in taking the time to step out of the normal routine and away from our usual surroundings with the sole purpose of focusing on our relationship and learning how to be better for each other and as a couple.

– – – –

These ways of investing in your relationship can help you improve communication with your spouse. This is important when you’re working to improve your finances together by making it easier to discuss the challenging topic of personal finances. By learning more about each other and investing in the relationship it will be far easier to design the life you both dream of and align your actions with your shared values.

– – – –

This blog was created based on an episode of the radmoney podcast on the same topic. Catch up on recent episodes of the radmoney finance podcast and make sure you never miss an episode by subscribing on Spotify – Apple or wherever you listen to podcasts!