When Mike and I got in my Toyota Prius together in February 2011 for what was supposed to be a platonic 5-day road trip, we both had misconceptions about each other…especially when it came to financial success.

Basically…we both assumed the other one had it way more together with money than either one of us did.

A 5-day drive from Buffalo to Phoenix between friends turned into 10 months of domestic digital nomad hood, complete with a romance that began on day one…and a shattering of our assumptions about each others’ money lives.

One thing we did really well that I know flamed the fans of our romance…and has kept it strong 13 years later?

We told the truth about our relationships with money really early on. Like within the first 5 days. (Turns out there’s a lot of time to talk when you’re both staring at the open road for days on end.)

I can’t recommend getting financially naked early in romantic relationships strongly enough.

It’s unbelievably common that people keep financial secrets from their partner…but it’s definitely not healthy.

And it’ll suck the spark right out of your relationship because the energetic bandwidth it takes to cover up the truth depletes the partnership.

We did great on not keeping secrets.

But there’s another bad money habit that took us about a year to stop doing that I really wish we’d gotten handled earlier.

That sneaky money habit?

Avoidance and vagueness.

I know it can really feel like ignoring our money, not being super clear on what we’re making, what we’re spending, what we owe, and/or what our investments are worth is better than knowing the truth when we suspect the truth isn’t that great…but I can promise you, avoidance is always worse than knowing the truth.

What’s the main ingredient that can help you overcome your avoidance, vagueness, or even secrecy?

Love.

Love for yourself. Love for your partner. Love for the life you’re creating and the resources that make that life possible.

Putting loving attention on your money is the most important thing we can do to feel safe with our money so that our resources can expand and bless our life and the lives of those we touch.

So, today on Valentine’s Day, why not set an intention to look your finances head on with love…whether you’re partnered or not?

Money loves clarity.

And the more you look at your numbers with love (mostly for yourself, but also others, and also the numbers themselves) the better the whole process will feel.

When you have clarity, you have power.

And when you have power, you can have anything you want!

The sooner you pay attention to your money with love, the sooner you’ll have a dreamy romance with your money and your partner.

All my love,
Kate