Talking about the future

Yesterday evening BF and I went for a walk after dinner. We talked about our goals for the future – both personal, professional and financial. It was something that was needed, because we haven’t really done it before. We both know what each other’s general goals are for the future, but since I moved in, it hasn’t really been about us and our goals together. And I still think we need to talk about it some more over the weekend, but here is what I got out of our talk …

• I have a career, and he is still in “school & training” mode. School is expensive. So to expect him to save at the same rate as me is unrealistic at this point in his life.

• We will be opening a joint savings account at ING and will each deposit $50-$75 bi-weekly. This will be our Property Fund. So that in about 4 years, we’ll have $10-15k saved up for our first place together. I’m thinking this money will probably go towards closing costs & perhaps renovations & purchases for the place, because we both will have other monies we can put down for a down payment. But, it could also be used for that purpose too.

• As for our first place together, we will both have to be open to different things and compromise.

• When he starts his career, he could be gone and out of the country (with potentially no contact) for months at a time. Until we have children.

• When he starts his career, we will both consider moving to a different city.

• He needs to stop getting defensive over money and money-related issues. Just because I ask a question doesn’t mean I’m accusing him of anything. I’m just genuinely interested in personal finance. He should really know this by now. :)

• We both want to get married and have children together, but BF needs to start a career first. Career = $$$.

• We still differ on how to split costs in the future. I think it should be a percentage, based on how much we earn. He thinks it should be 50-50, regardless of each other’s income level. It will be difficult to figure out since I will most likely always have a steady pay cheque, and he will most likely be self-employed. So that’s something we’ll have to deal with once he finishes his training.

• Oh yeah, and I am fully aware that I am a control freak. So I should stop.

Anyway I’m really excited about finally getting on the same page in terms of a time frame to buy a place together. It will also be our first joint bank account. It makes me feel like we’re more of a team, and it’s nice to know that we’re working towards common goals. I think that we both know that we need to talk about these things more often.