Money Talks To Have With Each Other Before The Wedding!
BY The WMG Bride | 23 Apr, 2016 | 2025 views | 4 min read
Proposal day = chocolate, roses and a big fat ring. Yep, it's all super exciting. But before you get on one knee or swoon over the diamond ring, take a step back and talk about an important but awkward topic: Money. As uncomfortable as this topic might seem now, you don’t want any unexpected surprises when it comes to debt and other obligations. Your debt — and your partner’s — impacts not just your collective bottom line, but also your ability to jointly make financial commitments, like buying a first home. Or having the wedding of your dreams. Or just generally the direction of your dreams.
What Are Your Dreams?
Couples can learn a lot about each other's personal finance attitudes toward money when they start talking about practical things such as wedding plans. This can lead into other money discussions, such as honeymoon plans, buying a home or having children in the future. It's important that couples know because it can be a problem in the future if one person thought the plan was to stay in a rented city apartment forever while the other expects to buy one!
Wedding Plans Who is paying for the wedding? What are we adding to it if our parents are pitching in? Boy's side obligations and girl's side obligations. Put it all out and talk it over - sometimes, marriages break over the initial monies. Expectations are different and those instances can hit the wedding and the couple's relationship itself!
Debt Damage Like it or not, lots of people have debt! It could be from an education loan, a credit card you use a little too often, or bills that have accumulated over time. Ask your partner how much debt they have and if they have a plan for paying it off. Be financially naked. You may have debt that you don’t want the other person to know about because you’re scared, but it’s always better to fess up.
Household Expenses If you are living alone, there will be rents, bills and a ton of other expenses to pay. You could always pitch in your money together and pay for it, but sometimes it's better if one person is incharge of one particular thing, while the other does the saving for a big ticket item. Start talking about how the two of you are going to divide household finances. Perhaps you pay the monthly bills and day-to-day expenses, while your spouse handles the insurance and retirement savings, or vice versa. Figure out each other’s strengths and natural abilities and play to those in how you divide up the financial responsibilities.
How important is owning a house to the both of you? There are people who save up their entire life to buy a home, and others who feel staying on rent and maybe investing in property on the side is a better idea. You may want to talk about when you plan on buying a house if you don't own one already
Travel Talk There are people with wanderlust. They want to splurge on vacations and experiences and its okay for them to save a bit less as long as those experiences come there way. If these are matched with people who don't believe in spending on travel, you may want to discuss this beforehand.
If you were given a million dollars, where would you spend it? This one question can reveal great insights into each other. Would you travel? Would you make an investment? Would you splurge on an expensive car? Would you start a business?
Financial Advisor If you already work with an accountant, attorney and/or financial advisor, make sure your partner also establishes a relationship with them — and vice versa. If neither you nor your spouse has ever consulted with a financial advisor, now is the perfect time to find one together.
Who's Your Biggest Cheerleader? Make sure you are each other’s biggest support when it comes to making financial decisions. Confide in each other and offer constructive advice. If the financial inventory uncovers debts or other financial challenges, figure out how to tackle the issues together as a team. Don’t forget to celebrate your successes, too. By Apoorva Pagar
What Are Your Dreams?
Couples can learn a lot about each other's personal finance attitudes toward money when they start talking about practical things such as wedding plans. This can lead into other money discussions, such as honeymoon plans, buying a home or having children in the future. It's important that couples know because it can be a problem in the future if one person thought the plan was to stay in a rented city apartment forever while the other expects to buy one!
Wedding Plans Who is paying for the wedding? What are we adding to it if our parents are pitching in? Boy's side obligations and girl's side obligations. Put it all out and talk it over - sometimes, marriages break over the initial monies. Expectations are different and those instances can hit the wedding and the couple's relationship itself!
Debt Damage Like it or not, lots of people have debt! It could be from an education loan, a credit card you use a little too often, or bills that have accumulated over time. Ask your partner how much debt they have and if they have a plan for paying it off. Be financially naked. You may have debt that you don’t want the other person to know about because you’re scared, but it’s always better to fess up.
Household Expenses If you are living alone, there will be rents, bills and a ton of other expenses to pay. You could always pitch in your money together and pay for it, but sometimes it's better if one person is incharge of one particular thing, while the other does the saving for a big ticket item. Start talking about how the two of you are going to divide household finances. Perhaps you pay the monthly bills and day-to-day expenses, while your spouse handles the insurance and retirement savings, or vice versa. Figure out each other’s strengths and natural abilities and play to those in how you divide up the financial responsibilities.
How important is owning a house to the both of you? There are people who save up their entire life to buy a home, and others who feel staying on rent and maybe investing in property on the side is a better idea. You may want to talk about when you plan on buying a house if you don't own one already
Travel Talk There are people with wanderlust. They want to splurge on vacations and experiences and its okay for them to save a bit less as long as those experiences come there way. If these are matched with people who don't believe in spending on travel, you may want to discuss this beforehand.
If you were given a million dollars, where would you spend it? This one question can reveal great insights into each other. Would you travel? Would you make an investment? Would you splurge on an expensive car? Would you start a business?
Financial Advisor If you already work with an accountant, attorney and/or financial advisor, make sure your partner also establishes a relationship with them — and vice versa. If neither you nor your spouse has ever consulted with a financial advisor, now is the perfect time to find one together.
Who's Your Biggest Cheerleader? Make sure you are each other’s biggest support when it comes to making financial decisions. Confide in each other and offer constructive advice. If the financial inventory uncovers debts or other financial challenges, figure out how to tackle the issues together as a team. Don’t forget to celebrate your successes, too. By Apoorva Pagar
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