David Podley and clinical psychologist Dr. Joe Dilley talk about the effect our parents’ had on our financial development and how we choose to pass or not pass these traits on to our children..

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David Podley and clinical psychologist Dr. Joe Dilley discuss how to categorize expenses in your budget when you and your partner don’t see eye-to-eye.

This episode can be downloaded through this link, or you can subscribe to our podcast updates through iTunes (for free) by clicking this link that will take you to The Frugal Couple’s page in iTunes. For more instructions on how to use iTunes to subscribe to podcasts, we’ve written a document you can find here.

Dr. Joe Dilley and David Podley talk about how two partners can both talk about the same financial issue yet not be communicating at all.

How to tell if you and your partner are putting different meanings on the same thing
If you and your partner are talking about finances and things start to escalate, your problem may be that the situation you see may be different than the situation your partner sees. You may agree that the purchase you’re talking about is $250, but you may feel that the $250 has either a greater or lesser impact on your financial situation than your partner does.

If you’re in this situation and you disagree with the impact of a dollar figure, ask your partner to rate on a scale of 1 to 10 what the impact of this amount today has on your future goals.

If you’re working on figuring out what a term or goal (such as retirement or college savings) means to you, get into the details of what this idea looks like to you. For example, Does retirement mean lots of golf or does it mean turning a hobby into another source of income? Feel free to explore and investigate these ideas with your partner. You will not only learn what these things mean to your partner, but you’ll have a better picture of what they mean to you as well.

Prevent disappointments by clarifying goals and the steps you will take to get there
If you don’t clarify your goals you run the risk of being significantly disappointed. Researchers have found that your level disappointment in a situation is the difference between your expectations and the reality. Talking about each of your goals will help reduce disappointments.

Having different views of money can be a great asset to your relationship
Remember that your partner’s differing views on money can help balance out your views and bring great strength to your marriage.

This episode can be downloaded through this link, or you can subscribe to our podcast updates through iTunes (for free) by clicking this link that will take you to The Frugal Couple’s page in iTunes. For more instructions on how to use iTunes to subscribe to podcasts, we’ve written a document you can find here.

Mr. Frugal and Dr. Joe Dilley talk about how to keep intimate relationships healthy when dealing with finances.

When two people are in a relationship, emotional baggage can be brought into it, especially in the area of money. We have our first experiences with money at an early age and they continue on through life. As such, we’re naturally going to view money differently than our partner does.

Much of keeping your relationship healthy comes from understanding how your partner views money. Be curious. Ask questions about their financial life when they were growing up. Men and women will naturally see money differently. Men often see money as something that provides freedom and women see it as something that provides security.

When getting into these conversations with our spouses or partners, communication is key. Most of the time we respond to what we think the other person is saying, not what they mean. The first thing is to get clear on what your partner is saying.

Ask things like, “I heard you say ______. Is that what you meant?” Asking this question can stop arguments from ever happening.

Give your partner the benefit of the doubt. This is your partner, so try to understand where they’re coming from.

As you become better communicators, it’s okay to define certain times to talk about stressful things as long as you actually follow through on the conversation.

If you agree on the financial numbers (we have $X in debt and $Y in the bank account) but disagree on whether that’s good or bad, you may want to talk with a financial planner in order to get a third party’s opinion.

This episode can be downloaded here, or you can subscribe to The Frugal Couple’s podcast feed in iTunes by clicking this link (it will open iTunes and take you to the Frugal Couple’s podcast page).

The Frugal Couple Podcast is back online. I have made some changes and we’re moving toward interviews rather than Mr. Frugal’s discourses.

A lot has changed since I started The Frugal Couple. All along it’s been a blog, but I’ve dabbled in podcasting, but never put much into it. I’ve decided to begin with interviews of Dr. Joe Dilley, a clinical psychologist in South Pasadena, California.

If you’re relatively new to the site, please join our community by subscribing to the newsletter through the form at the top of this page. You can also check out FrugalPod.com, where I write about more general finance topics. There’s also a podcast for that site as well.

Subscribe to the podcast through iTunes (follow this link that will open The Frual Couple’s podcast page in iTunes) or come back to download episodes on a regular basis.

This episode can be found by clicking this link.