It is never pleasant to find out that your spouse lies to you. Especially when it comes to money and loans. It probably makes you angry to find out that your spouse has been concealing a debt from you more so if you though your finances are sound.
No matter how you came to find out about the debt, you are crucial in tackling this mess to avoid a recurrence. You can try these ways out to as you remedy the problem.
1. Calm down
Tackling problems while in a very emotional state is not productive. Cool off then discuss a way out with your spouse.
Don’t hold this matter over your spouse as this can ruin your relationship. Everybody makes mistake.
2. Find out precisely how much damage has been done
Know form your spouse the facts and figures; who is owed, interest rates, minimum payments and the debt remaining. Sort these details in order starting from highest to lowest interest rate.
3. Budget together
Making a budget together will go a long way towards making a workable plan for debt payment. Subtract monthly expenses from your income and use the surplus to pay off the minimum debts and others. You can be in debt if you use your credit cards to make only the minimum payments.
4. Find out the duration until the debt is paid
You can use a debt calculator to figure out the period it will take to settle your debt using your existing available cash on a monthly basis, making payments form high to low-interest rates.
5. Make budget adjustments
You can cut unnecessary expenses if you are unhappy with the duration it takes you to settle your debt. Start freelancing or ask for a raise to earn more money to pay off your debt quicker.
6. Pay off debt together
Make payments on the minimum debts and leftover from the minimum debts to pay off the target account until its cleared. Move on to the following debt and then the next one up to when it’s all cleared up.
Do this together to both be in the know about the financial activities all through the process.
7. Keep an open communication
To avoid a recurrence, be open in your communication with your partner. Fear of you or your judgment may make you partner conceal things from you or the other way around. Avoid future indiscretions by being comfortably open and honest with your partner.
Some couples prefer to keep financial matters separate, which is okay. But, you can agree on the amount of financial openness you want with your spouse. Hidden debts can interfere with joint financial goals, violate financial transparency and cause stress to the indebted spouse.
If it’s a repetitive behavior for your spouse to keep debts hidden, then your spouse is likely to need counseling. This will not only help your spouse but also your marriage as well.
Conclusively, be supportive. Work together to overcome the debt and strive to stay involved financially to prevent the matter from happening again. If it is a common occurrence, then it might help your spouse see a counselor.
