Jason Tartick Says He Would’ve Told Himself to ‘Wake the Hell Up’ Before Entering Relationship with Ex Kaitlyn

Jason Tartick spoke about his relationship with Kaitlyn Bristowe in his new book, Talk Money to Me, saying what he would change today and the conversations about money that needed to be had before moving in together with her.

“With the chaotic year of learning how to navigate the Wild West of reality TV and social media just behind me, the excitement of my new romance, and the gut punch of the unexpected loss of my job, I neglected to look at life’s balance sheet,” Jason revealed in his upcoming book, Talk Money to Me: The 8 Essential Financial Questions to Discuss With Your Partner, shared by People.

“Prior to June 2019, before we moved in together, my ex and I never had a candid conversation about money. I never told her the important numbers that defined my financial health, and she didn’t tell me hers. Hell, I didn’t even ask.”

“At move-in time, we didn’t have transparency on each other’s financial status, and we didn’t have a plan for our financial future together,” he wrote. “We were caught up in love and life, which is easy to do, especially when you’re going full steam ahead at 200 miles per hour!”

He hinted that he was struggling financially when he moved to the other city to be with Kaitlyn.

“Holy s–t, right? I’m 30 years old and for the first time in my adult life I’m unemployed, essentially homeless, moving into my new girlfriend’s house across the country — 2,389 miles away from my current residence to a city I know next to nothing about,” Jason wrote. “And the cherry on top: I’m moving into the house that she rented with her ex and later purchased herself. All the while, we still haven’t had these basic conversations about money.”

Now this changed throughout the years of our relationship, but to paint you a picture of how uninformed we were, here is a detailed list of all the numbers we didn’t know before moving in together

• Credit score: I didn’t know hers; she didn’t know mine.

• Total income: A guessing game for both of us.

• Total debt: A real his-and-her mystery.

• Annual spending habits: We never discussed it and of course didn’t put together a budget.

• How bills would be split: Zero plan in place.

• Joint account: Wasn’t a conversation and wasn’t implemented until years after the move.

• Purchased a joint living asset without a contract: Hello, Ramen!

• Four months later, purchased another living asset without a contract: Love you, Pinot.

• Investment portfolio: I didn’t know hers, she didn’t know mine and we didn’t discuss if we’d open an account together, or if we would use a financial adviser.

• Net worth: Although wildly incorrect information, Google has more info on us than conversations we had with each other about it.

“If I could go back in time, I would shake myself by the shoulders and yell, ‘Wake the hell up from the love clouds, Jason! These conversations are mandatory!”