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Back to Basics: When Two Become One
It's something a lot of couples argue about. Often it's more important to one of you than the other. But when one of you slips, both of you suffer.
10 Tips For Balancing Love and Money
It's a sad, but common tune: Debt threatens to divide or break up an otherwise strong couple that hadn't set up any financial ground rules. Love and money don't always go hand in hand, which means it's crucial to consider the long term repercussions of sharing your life and bank account with another person. There's no magical credit card or anti-debt potion, but here are some tips for keeping the communication lines open, piggy bank full and both of you crazy in love.
What Happens If My Husband Has Bad Credit, or No Credit at All?
You know it's important to maintain your own credit identity when you're married, but here's what ehadams is curious about: "What happens to credit when you get married? For example, if he has bad (or no credit) and you have excellent credit, what happens?" The answer to this is less complicated than going through the process of changing your last name!
Do You Spend Without Checking in With Your Husband?
If you wanted to buy, say a new pair of Loubs to fulfill your everlasting desire for red-soled shoes, would you have to consult your husband? And if he wanted to go on a Best Buy binge, would he need to check in with you to negotiate a limit?
Discussing spending priorities is a must when you're pooling your money, and some couples make a rule that they cannot spend over a certain amount without first checking with each other.
Financial Considerations For Newlyweds
Ideally you hashed out the His and Hers money issues before you said I do, and beginning your marriage with openness about finances will set the tone for constant and comfortable communication. A good place to start is the three-bucket approach: One shared and two individual accounts helps to maintain a sense of independence while combining funds for shared expenses eases you into the idea of combining funds, though this approach isn't for everyone.
You can always rethink your married money situation later if you feel another approach better suits you, as there's not a single formula that works for all couples.
Would You Get a Joint Checking Account With Your Boyfriend?
We've shared opinions about combining money (or not) as a married couple, but how many of you have ever explored the idea of opening a joint account with your boyfriend? I can see how it could be convenient if you're living together and splitting bills, but it doesn't seem like it's a common thing to do before a couple is engaged or married. What's your take?
Tax Tip For Married Couples
Just because you've promised to be there for your guy through good times and bad, it doesn't mean that filing jointly is the best option for you. You want to pay the least amount of taxes overall, so make sure you run the numbers for filing jointly and separately before opting for one or the other. When would you consider filing separately?
Should Marriage Mean Combining Finances?
There are two questions I hear most when people find out I’m engaged: Am I going to take his last name, and how are we going to handle our finances? The second question is an important one for couples to consider when getting married, though don’t you think it’s funny that this is one of the only times other people don’t consider money talk to be taboo?
There’s no right answer in terms of whether or not a couple should combine their finances; the real answer is to do what’s right for you and your unique situation.
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Ask Savvy: My Husband Spends More Money Than He Should
Dear Savvy,
My husband and I share a bank account. We both work (he makes more money than I do) and it was his idea to combine bank accounts when we got married a year ago. The combined money situation was going smoothly until recently, when he started spending like he did when he was single.
Back to Basics: Balancing Love and Money
Love and marriage may go together, but love and money don't always. Thirty percent of Americans, 23 percent of Canadians, 24 percent of the French, and 12 percent of Germans say the recession has added stress to or ruined their relationship or marriage. These are startling stats, especially when you consider only 11 percent of SavvySugar readers say they have never fought with their spouse over money.
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