Welcome to a new week here on the Retirement Quick Tips podcast. I’m your host Ashley Micciche, co-owner of True North Retirement Advisors, an independent financial advisory practice managing $340 million in client assets. I’m a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor, and I started this podcast because I love helping people just like you gain clarity and make a plan for the retirement you envision. 

The theme this week on the podcast is: How To Include Your Spouse In Financial Decisions

There’s a lot of information out there on what to do when you first get married and combine your finances. But what about couples who are nearing retirement, who may at this point have been married for 20-30+ years and are set in their patterns and routines when it comes to managing the household finances. 

Are the patterns that we’re settled in after many years together problematic for managing your finances as a couple as you get older? Not necessarily, but if you’re doing it right, managing the household finances is kind of a big job. There’s everything to making sure the utility bills and property taxes get paid to keeping track of money coming in and out, doing your taxes, making decisions about your investments…even couples who are good with their money are often setting themselves up for future catastrophes, or at the very least, future stress and headaches.

That’s because when it comes to finances, it’s most often that only one spouse, not both spouses have a good understanding of the household finances. In many cases, one spouse may not even know which credit card bills need to be paid this month and wouldn’t have the faintest clue about how to file a tax return. 

This, of course, can be problematic when the financial guru in the marriage becomes disabled, loses their mental faculties, or dies first. I see this often with older couples, so this week, I’m going to share with you how you can involve your spouse in key financial decisions that will give them some insight to how the household finances function. Everything from creating a master list of your financial accounts, to reviewing your tax return, to ensuring that both of you always participate in meetings with your key advisors.

I hope what I have to share with you this week will help you make smart and thoughtful decisions with your retirement. And while I am careful to not lead you astray, personal finance is not an exact science. There is no one-size-fits-all solution for everyone, so I encourage you to disregard anything I say that may not be helpful for you, and to consult your own financial, tax, and legal advisors regarding your own individual situation. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! I’m excited to dive deeper into this week’s theme with you! My name is Ashley Micciche...and this is the Retirement Quick Tips podcast.

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance