Life as a financial planner is never dull…every client is different and their circumstances are unique.
Recently I met a couple who have very conflicting views on what should be happening with their finances after a recent windfall. Things have changed dramatically money wise; and those changes are causing massive stress and tension between them, to the point where they were openly fighting in front of me. Open warfare doesn’t happen very often, thankfully.
We were able to calm the waters and continue our discussion, but there were lots of things needing consideration and negotiation.
When I analysed the tensions between the couple, there were many parts to the problem, including:
– conflicting values about money, they had very differing views on how the money should be handled
– control of the asset, all the money was sitting in the account of one person & the other had no money
– a blended family
– fear of the unknown, after 15 year on the pension that’s suddenly disappeared
– overwhelm at the prospect of having to make decisions about large sums of money.
Who knew I’d have to become a part-time counselor as well as a full time planner when I qualified? Emotional intelligence is essential when dealing with money and emotions.
