Do you have trouble talking to your significant other about money? You're not alone.
New research from Fidelity Investments shows that more than 80% of spouses disagree about major issues in planning for retirement. We're talking about things like when to retire, whether or not to work part-time in retirement, lifestyle expectations during retirement, etc.
Other disturbing stats from the research show that 4 out of 10 couples don't know if they have an annuity. And only 1 in 3 couples have ever talked about what investments they should have as a couple.
That's just
not healthy.
Perhaps the most telling stat of all is that only 15% of respondents said they were confident their spouse could handle the finances in the event of their death.
Couples generally only start to talk about finances and retirement when there's a problem. That's too late.
Executive producer Christa and her husband like to have what they call "money movie night" each Friday where they put a film on for their children, fire up a frozen pizza and go over their finances using
Mint.com to track spending.
Make an appointment with your spouse to discuss what you have, what you want and what your goals are. This should be an ongoing discussion -- not just one talk -- but just get the ball rolling.
