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Sunday, November 2, 2008

4 financial things you should know before getting married

1.How are both of you going to manage your money and your expenses? Is it going to be pool your money together (merged finances- as called by Clever Dude) and pay off expenses or each person is going to have a separate account and take charge of selected expenses?

2. What are the 'sins' that each other are committed to? Is there any type of 'sin' that could suck a major portion of your income? A must have drinking session with close friends every Saturday night or being a broadway musical crazy fan that you can't miss even though you know that will cause you to go on hunger for the next 2 days. You may want to read Clever Dude's Have You Committed Financial Infidelity where he has actually shared his experience and how he actually avoided the fights after marriage because he did that before marriage! Another good article regarding this topic that I just saw : Money, fidelity go hand in hand by Sharon Jayson, USATODAY.COM

3. Are there financial dependent family members from either side who needs to be cared for?In case there is someone who needs financial assistance, it would be wise to declare them earlier to your would-be-spouse. Maybe it is a brother who is wheelchair-bound or a sister who needs dialysis every week, just tell.

4. What are the financial 'burdens' that your partner is carrying over? Maybe your future spouse has yet to pay off his/her education loan which is quite a substantial amount. Knowing how much he/she is committed every month would be good so that we don't make any false assumptions or have any expectations that cannot be fulfilled because of this existing 'burden'.

All the financial things listed above should be openly spoken to your spouse before you get married. This opinion is even shared by Bryce in Don’t Keep Secrets.It is better for both of you to have a clear picture of your financial status in order to have a proper financial planning for your life.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for including me in your reading list.

t-luck said...

You're most welcome.. Good things must be spread around!!! :)

S said...

This is the exact problem that I am facing. My lady has zero debts, obligations, payments. I, on the other hand, have 100k in student loans, a car loan, and sometimes have to help out my rents. It is a def sticking point that we are having trouble dealing with, but we need to before getting hitched.

Caleb Nelson said...

I saw the first couple of items coming, but I never thought about financially burdensome family members. That is a really good consideration. Some people aren't as family-oriented and might not be too thrilled about taking care of an in-law.

Caleb (www.blueprinteconomics.com)

t-luck said...

@ Doctor S,
Thanks for your comments.
As for me, the difference doesn't matter as long as both partners are aware of the real situation they are stepping into and know how they are going to handle it.

@Caleb,
Thanks for your comments.
In-law problems -if it affects your partner financially,it will surely be cause a bomb in your marriage life. So, better be aware of this constraints and talk it to your partner first, than regret it later.