EDITORIAL
Are You Carrying Financial Baggage Into Your Marriage?
Brides and Grooms are marrying later which generally means there could be some financial baggage coming into the marriage and financial habits that could be hard to change. When you get married at a later age, you are used to how you manage money, you have your financial issues and your future spouse has their own financial issues. Even if you are bringing financial baggage to the mar- riage; it doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be discussed. Terefore, be- low I am going to highlight five areas that should be discussed when it comes to financial baggage and not overlooked.
(1) We’ve all heard that opposites attract. Knowing each oth- er’s spending habits even prior to getting married can save you a lot of heartache and disagreements during the mar- riage. Haven’t you heard, admitting it is the first step? I encourage the shopper to step right up and admit they are a shopper and same with the saver. My husband told me right off when we were dating that he liked to shop and I got to see it firsthand. I also learned how to talk with him about curbing some of that shopping and working on a bigger picture.
(2) Child Support – Not that this will pertain to everyone, however if it is not said, sure enough someone will be deal- ing with this situation and wish it had been said. When
8
www.blackbrideandgroom.com
people get married older, there is a chance that there are children involved.
You want to ask the fu- ture spouse if they have any children. If so, are they paying child sup-
port and can you handle that if they are? Tat means there are X amount of dollars going out monthly for the child’s benefit and will not become a part of the marital income. Be honest with yourself, if you say you can handle it then do so. Do not hold it against your future spouse because you were not there or in that relationship. Let’s be real, we have all seen those episodes on Judge Hatchett or even Judge Mathis where they are there for paternity test and the child support order is enforced.
(3) Student Loans – It is important to find out if your future spouse has student loans, how many, what are they paying per month and if any of these are delinquent. Both of you might have student loans which are individual and this could give you an opportunity to strategize and discover a way to get them paid off sooner. Tese financial payments will affect your household finances which lead me to num- ber four.
(4) Budget – A budget is going to be crucial to your mar- riage. Tis will help you determine income, expenses and
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28