What would make a nice “financial” Valentine's Day gift?Another thought provoking article by Ernie McDaniel - as seen in Forum News. |
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* First, for young couples, meaning those not in or near retirement, a nice financial gift might be to commit to sitting with your sweetheart and working jointly on family finances, particularly on setting family long-term savings goals. Financial decision-making and leadership for too many couples involves only one of the two. Or, even worse, neither - they just throw around blame when they run out of money at the end of the month.
After a few decades of this, all they may have to show financially for their shared lives (if they've even survived as a couple under these difficult circumstances) is worn nerves and an attic full of yellowed receipts. Most of the stuff they bought is gone and forgotten.
On the other hand, had they been working together on savings goals, and mutually committed, they would have fewer receipts and potentially several thousand one-hundred dollar bills, all neatly gathered in bundles of $10,000 each and stacked in a storage rental.
Okay, just kidding about that last. But some equivalent in value, possibly. The point is, there's a chance they'd possess much greater wealth and a better shot at financial freedom. Retiring to the Caribbean might not be a pipedream after all. And this financial potential may be made possible beginning with commitments made to each other on February 14, 2005.
* Now, let's talk about the ideal financial Valentine for a couple approaching retirement or maybe even well into it, maybe even elderly. Often in this retirement-age group it is the husband who pretty much keeps up with the details of managing the assets. (I'm not saying that's the way it should be, I'm saying that's the way it is.) We know that men in general are likely to meet Our Maker at an earlier age than women. Thus there are more widows than widowers. But regardless of who may go first, if the surviving sweetheart is unfamiliar with managing their once joint assets, that grieving person's darkest hour may grow darker still.
Yes, for awhile at least, sweethearts often leave each other behind. This is why I believe the greatest Valentine gift the financial manager half of a retired couple may offer his sweetheart is to make certain she has a comfortable and long-established relationship with an appropriate financial professional - even if that gift may require his making the effort to find a new professional while he's still around, a professional who has considerable experience working with widows.
In my thirty years of guiding people, I've been fortunate enough to work with thousands of really nice folks. The most heart-warming and heart-wrenching - certainly most humbling - of all these relationships have been built with retired couples then were continued with widows. The memories bring tears…not because of the grief I've seen but the love.
Indeed, to love deeply requires great courage. You've got it in you, so be courageous in your financial decisions too, no matter what your stage of life. Happy Valentine's Day!
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