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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 31 M A R C H 1 9 , 2 0 1 8 H OW TO B Y A N D R E W S I L S B Y A s a banker, I believe there's no bad time to chat about your family fi nances with your signifi cant other. Talking about family fi nances and having a good system for fi nances isn't the most romantic topic, but it's important for long-term happiness in a relationship. Being upfront and honest about fi nances with each other, is the foundation for a healthy and lasting relationship. 1. Communication One thing I've learned after being in the banking business for 32 years is that it is incredibly important to talk about money with your signifi cant other to avoid confl icts down the road. Don't sweep it under the carpet. Problems, particularly money problems, don't just go away if you ignore them. As a mort- gage lender for many years, I frequently would discover through the process of taking a loan application, that there were accounts, loans and credit cards that one person in the relationship didn't know about. Sometimes those conversations were very uncomfortable, so maintain- ing an open dialogue about fi nances is always a good practice. 2. Account management Most couples have a preconceived notion that they must combine all their money. I think this view comes from past generations, but it is not your parents' banking era anymore. e use of bank accounts has changed over the generations, particularly in the past decade with the explosion of electronic payment use. Let's look at a checking account as an example. ere is only one checkbook, one register, and only one person can have that checkbook at a time. In the past you might have only have written 10 or 12 checks a month and it was easy to keep track of those checks and your account balance. Today, we aren't writing very many checks and we have a lot of electronic payments, includ- ing debit cards that create hundreds of transactions in a single month. Managing that becomes a real chal- lenge if that activity is doubled with two people. Just think about it, if both of you buy coff ee every day, that alone adds up to 60-plus transactions per month. My advice to most couples is to keep separate accounts. Over my banking years, the most successful money-managing households keep their money separated. 3. Best practices e best approach I've seen is a "yours/ mine/ours" account structure. ere is always a division of who pays for what in each household. at discussion still needs to happen with this approach, but manage your day-to-day expenses separately. It's just a good idea to keep separate checking accounts and con- tribute to an "our" account for common household expenses like mortgage, utilities, groceries and maybe even lon- ger-term savings for annual vacation or college expenses. When I say separate accounts, I don't necessarily mean that the account is solely in one person's name. Although some households do that, I actually think the best practice is to have the separate accounts set up as joint ownership. With the primary operator of the account's name listed fi rst, it's clear which account is who se. e joint ownership just allows the other person access in the event there is an emergency, but not for daily transactions. Joint ownership can cre- ate a challenge when it comes to gift giving, just because the other person might know what you're buying. If there is a lot of sensitivity to what each person spends money on, you can always keep those day-to-day accounts under a single ownership. Ultimately, it's up to you and your partner to determine what is best for your fi nancial well-being. Andrew Silsby is president and CEO of Kennebec Savings Bank. Construction Loans Rehab & Renovation Loans Land Development & Subdivision Loans Short Term Bridge Loans Where others see buildings, we see communities. Where others see numbers, we see people. Where others see problems, we see solutions. Maine Capital Group provides single-source lending and strategic advisory services for small to mid-sized financing opportunities in the residential and commercial real estate markets. www.mainecapitalgroup.com Contact Shawn Lyden: slyden@mainecapitalgroup.com / 207-513-1059 Jiffy Lube/Taco Bell — Biddeford, ME Unexpected This 5,500 sq. ft. retail space turned out to be the perfect location for this unlikely combination of tenants. To get your project going with PM Construction, call Laura Blanchette at (207)282-7697. Unexpected Talk love and money: Broaching a tough topic with your partner H OW TO Talking about family Talking about family Talking about family Talking about family Talking about family Talking about family Talking about family Talking about family Talking about family Talking about family Talking about family Talking about family Talking about family Talking about family finances and having finances and having finances and having finances and having finances and having finances and having finances and having finances and having finances and having finances and having finances and having finances and having finances and having a good system for finances is important for long-term happiness in a relationship.

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