I was once told that a romantic relationship is an investment. Come to think about it, it is true. If your idea of a relationship is merely about physical and emotional intimacies, folks, do think it over.

Let’s get real. Any romantic relationship takes up a lot of our time, effort, and emotions to nurture it. Often, it also costs money as the relationship evolves. Certainly it cannot survive on love and sunshine alone.

Indeed, a relationship may be one of the biggest financial investments one would have made in his/her life. Like many other investments, a relationship can potentially cost a great deal with no guaranteed return of capital. And again, you will claim; “No risk, No gain”. Well, this makes sense and I am not saying you shouldn’t be involved in a relationship. After all, we can’t live by ourselves. But the point that I am trying to highlight here is that any investment should be performed with calculated risk.

Allow me to share an example where the ‘investment’ was done without risk calculation. I got to know Sherman* while I was reading at university. Sherman always wanted a supermodel girlfriend and he did get one. However, he quickly realized that his supermodel girlfriend was a high maintenance girl. He had to fork out about $ 2,000 every month to finance his girlfriend’s expenditures and that included dining in posh restaurants, shopping at boutiques, purchasing exorbitant gifts and indulging in extravagant entertainment. The amount was huge for Sherman since he wasn’t born into a rich family. In the end, he turned to his credit card to solve his financial problem. The credit card bill didn’t seem to bother him very much at first as he could easily cover the minimum payment of the bill. Everything was fine until six months later when his girlfriend decided to walk out from the relationship. He felt completely heartbroken and disheartened by the breakup. To make things worse, his credit card bill amounted to an enormous amount of $20,000 after 6 months. He had a tough time repaying the bill since he was still dependent on his parents.

This scenario can happen to you if your partner is spendthrift and you are responsible for your partner’s expenditures. The priority should then be to manage the problem if you are attached, or avoid it altogether if you are not. Here are some tips to do so.

First, remember to ask yourself what you would like to obtain out of a relationship and the type of partner you would like to go out with. These are crucial questions as they determine the size of your capital investment. For example, dating a high maintenance partner may require you to invest in better clothes and shoes to match his or her image, in addition to other dating expenditures as in the case of Sherman.

Second, never leave out relationship expenditure when planning your monthly budget. Set a certain percentage of your income or allowance for your relationship, and then stick to the budget strictly. It is certainly not something enjoyable to do but this is one way to help safeguard your capital.

Third, understand your partner’s spending habit. Is it compatible with your financial situation? This is especially significant as it will impact your finances unless your partner takes care of his or her own expenditures. If your parents are still funding your expenses or perhaps your monthly wage is just sufficient to cover your basic necessities, do think it over before getting into a relationship with a person who insists on luxuries despite knowing your financial situation. This probably indicates a lack of respect from him or her towards you.

Last aspect is communication with your partner. It is very important to communicate your financial situation to your partner as it changes, and you feel ashamed at your own peril. Seek for his/her understanding and in return, it may help to manage each other’s expectation of the relationship. In any case, should he or she choose to walk out from the relationship, you will be glad that it happens before you both got married.

Remember, the key points to ensure are to know what you want, set a budget, know your partner’s spending habit, and communicate communicate communicate! If you don’t, well, remember what happened to Sherman.