subject: Financial Consideraton for Newly Wed Couples [print this page]
Are you planning on getting married soon, or have you recently married? If so, hopefully in all the excitement leading up to the wedding you didn't neglect to overlook financial planning basics that can smooth out potential bumps in the road in those early (and sometimes difficult) early years of marriage.
Here are a few tips that should help you navigate the financial issues that will undoubtedly crop up from time to time.
Talk About Money
You may have had very different experiences with money while growing up. Did you come from an affluent family where financial security was taken for granted? Or did you grow up in a family that while loving and caring, did not have much in the way of extra cash.
Be sure to explore your current ideas about money to ensure that you are both working towards the same financial goals. Determine which of you is best capable of handling the family budget and set down the parameters for doing so. Shared responsibility is usually the best course, but this might not be practical. If one spouse assumes these tasks, it is very important that the other spouse is well informed and has access to all financial records and transactions.
Problems can arise if the spouse who is primarily responsible for financial affairs fails to keep the other spouse informed. Consider setting aside a time and place each month to sit down and go over the family budget to ensure that everything is as it should be. This is a time to make adjustments and corrections where needed.
Major Purchases
You should early define just what constitutes a major purchase. In most marriages, both spouses want a say when it comes to making a large purchase such a new washer and dryer or the new family car. Having and keeping clear guidelines about when partners should consult each other about a purchase can go a long ways toward keeping to a budget and avoiding marital tensions. I know of a couple who early in their marriage decided that a purchase over $50 needed to go to "committee" for approval. Even though they have now been married for many years and the $50 threshold is no longer needed, it has become part of their marriage tradition and is still observed. They enjoy it!
Cred Card Debt
Credit card use is also a very important discussion to have early in the relationship, preferably before tying the knot! Do you both know when it is appropriate to use credit? How much debt is too much debt? What are you plans to handle debt that is being brought into the marriage by one or both partners?
Even if both spouses maintained separate budgets in the past, it is important to create a budget that reflects dual income and expenses and that is geared towards reducing current debt and saving toward future purchases such as a home or the expenses that will be incurred when beginning a family.
Financial Consideraton for Newly Wed Couples
By: Theodore Henderson
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