New Money

A Big Investing Mistake Couples Make

By Katy Marquardt

Posted: June 13, 2008

Men and women just aren't on the same page when it comes to investing, says SmartMoney magazine. According to their survey, husbands are more willing to take financial risk when investing than their wives (62 percent for men versus 19 percent for women).

If you and your partner have completely opposite investing philosophies, it pays to (surprise!) sit down and talk about your goals and time frames. Christine Larson, coauthor of The Family CFO, tells SmartMoney: "You could be completely risk averse with money you need for next year, but you can be a huge risk-taker with money you're saving for retirement."

In other words, distinguish between short-term, midterm, and long-term goals and invest accordingly. Or, as the story suggests, you could go your separate investing ways and just review your portfolios once a year to make sure they balance each other out.

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New Money

Katy Marquardt, a senior editor at U.S.News & World Report, takes a contemporary look at happenings in the financial world and aims to help young investors get going with their portfolios--or just sound cool at cocktail parties. Have a question? E-mail Katy at newmoney@usnews.com

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