Whether it’s gift-giving, a stacked social calendar, or even hosting the whole family, Christmas is pretty much guaranteed to take a hefty bite out of your bank balance.

And with those stresses and financial headaches comes the very real prospect of a major argument – or multiple arguments – with a loved one.

“It’s a real flashpoint for couples because it’s all about spending money,” says counsellor and Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy accredited psychotherapist Maxine Walsh on the latest episode of the Money Talks podcast.

“If you do have a tendency to argue about money, Christmas is going to be a big, big time for that. The vast majority of couples, you’ll have two people with different spending habits. That’s not unusual at all. It’s probably quite rare to have a couple where they’ll both have similar spending habits.

“So, like with everything else when it comes to being in a healthy couple, communication is the key thing.”

Walsh notes that “give and take” should be in our minds when Christmas-related financial firestorms present themselves and that people should enter realistic, truthful conversations about budgeting at this time of year.

“I’ve heard of couples getting into that conversation of, ‘let’s not buy one another presents, things are too tight this year’ and that’s perfectly fine and OK as long as you’re both being honest about that,” she says.

“This thing of, ‘oh, I don’t really want the present’ and then having to mind-read: ‘Do they really mean that? Should I get something small?’ Just try to be really honest, because it’s a needless argument.”

But let’s say a row breaks out despite all the best intentions and preventative measures. Is it possible to ‘fight better’?

“There’s a very simple key in any argument that you’re going to have and that’s trying to listen to the other person rather than trying to be heard. Once you go into it with the objective of being heard, nobody is heard.”

For the full conversation with Maxine Walsh, including why we ought to think twice before labelling somebody a Scrooge at Christmas, you can listen to Money Talks wherever you get your podcasts.

The content of this podcast is for information purposes and does not constitute investment advice or recommendation of any investment product.