Finances In Relationships Before and After the Wedding

Money problems are one of the biggest reasons two people get divorced. Did you know if you had just sat down and talked about how each of you would like to do things before you got married then you would most likely not have problems with finances in relationships after you are married? That's right, the best way to forgo arguments about finances in relationships is to talk things out and create a plan for when you two have to combine your lives and income. No two people have the same feelings about money and if there is enough to pay all the bills and still have some fun then you are way ahead of the pack in this economy. Here is what you should do: A few weeks before the wedding you should sit down and plan out your financial life. Write down some goals you both have and where you both want to be in six months, one year, and five years. Go out longer if you want to just make sure to take into consideration any raises either of you might get. I know that is difficult to do sometimes but if you want to go ahead. Be ready, because you both may have to compromise some things in order to make things work financially. Someone who likes to spend money may have to be put on an allowance each week. Talk it out, work it out and find a compromise that each of you can live with. Sometimes it is in your best interest to have separate checking accounts and each one of you be responsible for a portion of the household debt. Or, you could each maintain your own accounts and have a third for each of you to deposit enough in to cover the bills each month. The simplest might be to just have one checking account and pool all the money so you both know where every cent is going. This way you could also have a savings account and be saving for the things you want. Be sure to have paper and pen nearby when you sit down to talk so you can mock up a budget. Combine both your yearly incomes and see where you fall. Now, decide together how much you could spend on a house and enter this number in your mock budget. This is good practice for when you get married, by the way. Then put in good ballpark figure of what it would cost for electric and gas and water usage. Include insurance payments for the house and the cars. Do not forget about gas for the cars and food each week. Whatever you need to pay put a number for it in your mock budget so you can get a good idea of where you will be after the wedding. Finances in relationships do not have to be so stressful. If one of you would rather do the bills then elect that person to be in charge and take your weekly allowance without complaint.