We're not a dartboard.  Throwing 100 darts softly isn't the same as waiting a few months then throwing one dart as hard as you can. 

 

 

That just made me laugh!  Good point!

The advice that I see for "have this conversation!" is mostly, in my view, pointed towards people who couldn't tell a stock from a bond, or a coupon from a cell phone bill.  If I were "in the market" and some chick asked me about my personal finances really early, I'd take it completely the wrong way.

...And please, ladies, don't do that "girl thing" where you mention something 100 times in passing in lieu of asking it directly once.  Dudes don't see conversations the same way you do. We'll wonder why you have this tick that forces you to mention "student loans" as often as you use any other word. We're not a dartboard.  Throwing 100 darts softly isn't the same as waiting a few months then throwing one dart as hard as you can. 

Sure, the person's money habits might be very important. If one person is frugal and a saver, and the other lives for today and is comfortable taking on (or has) debt, it could make for a relationship that might not work.

That being said, the person him/her self is more important than money, way more.  I guess I don't see the reason to get into that discussion after a few dates.

I was always pretty good at not disclosing my finances with friends/people i was dating, but with my current significant other I was in the middle turning the ship around.  We got to talking long term goals one day and I told her everything that there was to tell.  She was kind of surprised, but not overly concerned.  I told her that I had a plan to pay it off (which I did/do) and was workign at it, and all it would take was time.  

I think this occurred quite a ways into the relationship (over a year).

What's your opinion on having "the money talk" with your significant other/person you're dating?  When did you have it?  What did you disclose? Did it cause problems or were you on the same page? Do you wish you'd talked about it sooner or did it happen at the right time?   Is it taboo to talk about it on the first few dates?

 

I'm curious as to what your experiences have been with this!

I think you can start to get a gist just based on regular conversation on those first few dates but I wouldn't open up that topic until you have been dating for a while- say 3 months or more. Until you are actually considering the possibility of committing to this person, I wouldn't bother.

We have this topic on our very long "to-write" list.  Being a married couple who blog together helps.  I think i'll try to do a collaboration for this one.

I'm curious as to what your experiences have been with this!