Saturday, November 23, 2024

5 conversations to have this Talk Money Week

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Just days after Rachel Reeves delivered her first budget as chancellor, we’re — perhaps appropriately — entering Talk Money Week.

However, unlike the last one, this week isn’t about high-level debates on tax and government spending, it’s about much tougher money conversations — the ones we’ve been putting off having with our family.

Here are the five issues we need to consider raising with loved ones.

If someone in your life is spending too much, or refusing to spend money they really need to, it should be addressed. We all have different approaches to spending, so the aim isn’t ever going to be to get everyone to see the world the same way as you do.

Instead, it’s worth understanding where they’re coming from, and why they’re behaving this way. Then you can go through their spending choices with them and help them understand the consequences.

If you’re concerned that someone in your life has debt issues, it can help to ask them about it. Then if they open up, try not to react immediately. You may be upset, and it’s perfectly reasonable to let them know how it affects you, but try to focus on looking forwards, and working together on a solution, so they feel they can be more honest in the future.

Read more: How renters can save up to buy their first home

If you’re struggling to tell someone about debts, then the easiest way is to come clean about everything at once. It doesn’t help to reveal the problem bit by bit, it just prolongs the agony. Warn them you have bad news, be honest, and then take responsibility for building back.

This can be tricky to face, let alone to tell anyone about. However, if you have lost hours, or your job, you’re sick or you need to support someone else, then your income might change, and the level of help you need from those around you may alter too.

It’s especially hard to be open about this if we’ve tended to be the person others have leaned on in the past. However, those who are close to you will want the opportunity to help in any way they can.

It can be easy to be so busy managing our money day-to-day that we don’t think about the future, but if we ever want to hit milestones like buying a house, having a family or retiring, we need to talk about it.

The easiest approach is to have a non-financial chat first, looking at what your priorities are and agreeing what you want the future to look like. Then you’re in a position to plan how to get there – whether that’s saving for a deposit together, or putting more money into a pension.

Talk Money Week is a good opportunity to speak to your family about finances. · Moyo Studio via Getty Images

This includes parents, and whether they have any plans in place for care as they get older, whether they will need more support, and how you can help.

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