Financial Marriage and Relationship Class: Talking About Money

Having already covered financial education classes and career workshops, this post addresses how Money Habitudes is used in a marriage or relationship class on finances. The example comes from the Portland Relationship Center in Oregon, which conducted a relationship class about money. (Anthem Strong Families in Texas, a grantee of the DHHS Administration for Children and Families, posted a similar, shorter Money Habitudes-based relationship class online for the same day.) In addition to relationship workshops, the PRC provides Imago couples therapy and marriage counseling.
Here’s the actual posting:

The Money Habitudes Workshop

 Join Norene Gonsiewski, LCSW and Tim Higdon, LPC in this fun and eye opening 1 day workshop. The Money Habitudes workshop is designed to help you to engage in productive conversations about money and understand the habits and attitudes that influence your actions and decisions regarding money. This workshop is the winner of several national awards for excellence in marriage education.

When: Saturday January 28th  9-5

Cost: $79.99 per couple, $49.00 individual

This workshop is for you if:

• You argue about money
• You struggle with setting and sticking to your financial goals
• You are sometimes dishonest about your spending
• You spend more than you earn
• You and your partner think and feel differently about money

1 Comment(s)

1. I’m so excited that you are offering this workshop. I’ve posted it on my blog, and plan to attend with Toni. I’m strongly encouraging my clients to attend!

Luna Jaffe, CFP

The class sold out, and another session will be offered later in the year.

How is this class like other relationship classes that use Money Habitudes?

1. Fun: Talking about money, meeting with a therapist, or going to marriage counseling is not usually something people think of as “fun.” Using a fun, hands-on tool makes the relationship seminar more engaging and approachable.
2. Talk about money: The workshop addresses the biggest source of couples’ arguments: fighting about money.
3. A series of relationship classes:  The class about talking about money is part of a series of relationship classes, including Getting the Love You Want, Keeping The Love You Find, and Advanced Couples Workshop. Other classes are part of a series that includes more skills-based financial classes like budgeting (e.g. Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University or Suze Orman), getting out of debt, foreclosure, buying a house, bankruptcy, etc. Other classes might include communication skills, conflict resolution, life skills, etc.
4. Singles and Couples Class: The class format allows individuals or couples to participate. Some facilitators format classes so that couples interact more directly, while others encourage more group discussion.
5. Cost: In this case, a couple pays $80 for an all-day class in many financial classes that use Money Habitudes, offered free or at a nominal cost. This is much less expensive than an hour of private couples counseling. Community agencies, marriage therapists, a variety of non-profits, and churches frequently offer many classes. Grants, such as the Healthy Marriage Initiative or Responsible Fatherhood, often sponsor these classes.
6. Materials: In this class, each participant will use a deck of Money Habitudes cards for Adults as well as the companion My Money Habitudes workbook. Some classes give materials to participants to take home; others reuse materials.
7. Time: Although it is common for marriage classes and marriage retreats to last all day or be an entire weekend (such as Catholic marriage prep Pre Cana classes), many Money Habitudes classes are shorter. Many are 1-2 hours. (Shorter classes employ it as a quick conversation starter or money personality assessment.) This all-day couples class format allows individuals and couples to explore their money personalities in great depth and integrate other activities and discussions.

Special training is available to teach Money Habitudes (including train-the-trainer sessions) and there is also the Guide for Professionals which has more tips, tricks, and information. However, there is no license fee to use the materials with a class. Various professionals with significant experience in their respective fields, such as financial education, financial planning and investing, couples therapy, etc., commonly offer many classes.