Your financial agreement Do you think money's for enjoying or for saving? Find out if you and your partner have the same attitude towards money with this exercise set out by Relationship psychotherapist Paula Hall.

In this article

Preparation

The exercise

Further help

• Before trying this exercise it's worth having a look at the Guidelines for exercises.
• Take a sheet of paper each and answer the following questions separately.
• Answer the questions as quickly as possible without analysing your responses too much.

This questionnaire is designed to help you and your partner learn more about each other's attitudes towards money.

In the first three questions, put the statements in order, starting with the one you agree with most.

1. My attitude towards money is:
a) money's for enjoying
b) money's for security
c) money's for sharing

2. When I spend a lot of money on my partner I think:
a) they deserve it
b) they'll love me more
c) they'll appreciate me more

3. When I spend a lot of money on myself, I feel:
a) guilty
b) important
c) pampered

4. What's the most amount of money you'd be comfortable spending without checking with your partner?

5. How much money is it OK to spend on yourself every month?

6. How much money should you save every month?

7. Which of you is generally better at managing their expenditure and budgeting?

Top tip

If you discover your and your partner's answers are very different, sit down and discuss what changes you need to make to your financial agreement to ensure you don't run into problems in the future.

If completing this exercise leaves you feeling uncomfortable or you have concerns about your relationship, try talking it through with your partner or a trusted friend. Alternatively, you might want to consider seeing a relationship counsellor. To find out more, see Do you need counselling?

For more on negotiating the money minefield, see Money trouble and Creating a monthly budget.