Marriage Money Tips
Money is one of the biggest reasons couples fight. Don’t start out your marriage with financial conflict. Get to know each other financially before you tie the knot.
Along with talk about the perfect house, and how many kids you want, one conversation you should have before you get married is about your financial goals. You may find that your future husband wants to start his own business, and you may not feel prepared to help support something like that. You many never want to purchase a home but that may be a huge goal for your spouse. Get those talks out of the way early to avoid conflict later.
We all know marriage is for better or for worse. Don’t let one of your “worse” moments come when you first see your significant others bad credit score AFTER you are married. This should not come as a shock to anyone. Talk about your credit, the bad and the good, before the big day.
Once you are married, any debt that one of you takes on is the responsibility of you both. So be sure to discuss any large credit purchases to make sure everyone is comfortable with the added debt.
Getting married does not mean that you have to totally marry your finances. Some couples opt to keep separate accounts. This allows each of you to have some financial freedom and not have to answer to every dollar spent. Keep a joint account for savings and paying bills if needed, but for some having at least a small account that is just their own can help their relationship a lot.
Once you are married, don’t stop talking about your finances and financial goals. Set aside time once a month to go over your budget and financial goals. Make sure to discuss any recent increases or decreases to your monthly expenses and income. Then schedule time annually to preview and plan for the year to come and any possible changes.
