(03) 9020 2905Cue Foo Fighters: “I’ve got another confession to make.”
Sorry, Mrs DebtMan, but there’s something else I should probably fess up to. It’s bigger than last year’s (when I got donuts for four days).
Here goes … I hide money from you. Lots. I’ve been doing it for years. I think you know I’m up to something. And please know I do it for your own good – you are sometimes capable of finding inventive ways to spend.
You seem to find it safer not to ask questions.
It’s safe in another bank account. I haven’t lost it with leveraged positions on the stock market. Like I did in 2008. Sorry. Again.
It’s in the account named “Savings for purchase of small Pacific island”. On which we get named King and Queen. Sure, it’ll never be used for that purpose, unless small Pacific islands crash in value. But it will help with the eventual renovation.
Am I good now? A good confession cleanses the soul.
A constant surprise for me as a financial adviser is how individual each couple’s finances are. They’re like fingerprints.
Some pool everything. Others have a “yours, mine and ours” mentality. And there are, um, 50 shades of grey in between.
And it’s that basis that determines how important the secret is. If you’ve got separate money, well, your secrets are probably your secrets. If you’ve got pooled money, then, like all relationships, secrecy is most likely dishonesty.
And that’s not a great basis for a relationship. If you’re holding one now … go on and let it out.
Bruce Brammall is the author of Debt Man Walking and Mortgages Made Easy (www.brucebrammallfinancial.com.au) and principal adviser with Bruce Brammall Financial.