Libby Koch has revealed how she and Sunrise host David manage their money – and revealed the secret of their marriage success.
She says that you should identify your strengths. She and David focus on their strengths, with David looking at the big picture and her looking at the details.
They both appreciate each other’s input and they know what works with finance in a marriage.
“The number one reason couples argue is money, followed by disagreements in raising children,” Mrs Koch says.
“Women are not as financially literate as we could be and it causes problems and couples break up.”
She bucks the trend and is financially literate to the point where she gives David a weekly or monthly allowance.
While she was out of the workforce raising the kids she figured that she decided to take care of the finances because she had time in her schedule.
“I paid all the bills and I organised everything – repairs, we did renovations and I worked out the sums and the budget and I’d say (to David), ‘right well you’ve got $200 left this month’.
“We have a joint credit card and I’d say, ‘keep your eye on the game because you’ve got $200 so don’t go putting more than that on the credit card.”
She hates paying interest on credit cards so she always ensures that the credit card is paid off by the due date.
Alarmingly, 30% of Really Simple Money survey participants do not know the balance of their super account.
She and David Koch have a joint private super fund and she says she knows the balance. She likes to live by what she says.
Communication is key to her and David’s successful marriage. They chat at least once a month about where their finances are.
“We may not always sit down but we’ll chat in the car at least once a month. We chat in the car at least once a month and we’ll touch base on where the finances are at.
“I’d run him through what I’m paying and bank accounts and things and then he’ll run me through his investments and how our super fund is doing.”
She says it creates problems if you don’t communicate. You may think that you’re saving the other partner the stress, but it’s not actually helpful in the long run.
Mrs Koch says it’s important to plan for the future rather than just panicking when things don’t go to plan.
“You need to talk about it and know where the money’s coming in and going out and what the super amounts are and where that is at.”
Libby’s advice in a nutshell:
- Identify your financial strengths in your marriage and focus on those whether it’s daily bills or long term investments.
- Communicate.
- Know your super balance.
- Pay your debts before the due date to avoid interest.
- Plan for the future.