You and Your Money: A No-Stress Guide to Becoming Financially Fit

12Communicating About Money—Count the Ways

There is an axiom in newspaper writing that the seeds of the ending are in the beginning. The idea is to let readers know early on what the story is about so they won’t be disappointed at the end. We can use this same guidance for relating to others, in what we say to them and how we interpret what is being said to us. If we communicate our expectations clearly and listen carefully to what others are saying to us, we can save ourselves a lot of disappointment later.

A personal finance student shared with class members this experience about the consequences of poor communications at work. Tim was employed by a well-known firm for 28 years before he was asked to take early retirement at age 57. His polite ...