Getting married may be one of the most blissful things that most people experience. This should make it clear why not many people are interested in talking about something as unromantic as finances before they get married. Regardless of that, this is one of the most important conversations to have, because a successful and happy future is one that’s not fraught with financial hardships. That said, have a look at some of the most important personal finance matters that you must talk about before you tie the knot.
Existing Debt
The first thing to get out of the way as far as finance goes before you settle down in your marriage is existing debt. Both of you need to be transparent to the other about any debts that you have, as well as the state of your credit. This can help make it easy for you to come up with a plan on how to handle the debt before it gets out of hand. This may be debt that’s been accrued for a number of reasons, including school loans and business loans. For the latter, keep in mind that some types of relief that may be obtained for business torts are injunctive relief, punitive damages, and compensatory damages. When you put your heads together, you may be able to map a way out of the debt and secure your finance as a couple.
Family Budgeting
Next, you need to talk about how you’ll go about family finance budgeting. For this, you’ll need to know about the expenses that you stand to face when you start living together. An example is heating and cooling, on which an average family spends roughly one-third of its annual budget or about $350 for air leaking into or out of the house via gaps or cracks that are unintended. Once you know all the expenses that await your life together, you have a good chance of working out how you’re going to budget for basic needs and other family details.
Retirement Plans
Retirement may seem like it’s a long way away, but that doesn’t make it less important to start thinking about early on. This is an important issue about finance to discuss because it can help you find out the best way to go about balancing your family expenses. It will also clearly show you the sacrifices that you may need to make in order to achieve your retirement dreams without issue. To come up with an effective retirement plan, you must get the basics in order. This means taking care of your home based on facts such as that water heating makes up 18% of your home’s energy expenses. Such details may enable you to realize your retirement dreams a lot more easily.
Your Financial Goals
Last but not least, it’s important to have goals if you have any hopes of growing and securing your finances. That said, talk about each other’s financial goals to make sure that you can get on the same page. As with the other details on finance, this is one of the things that will help you find a path toward the financial security that you hope to achieve. Be willing to compromise and see things from each other’s perspective so that you can reach an agreement that you both find easy to work towards.
Make it a priority to discuss these personal finance matters before you settle down together permanently. While having different views may not necessarily be a deal breaker, it can help to know early on so that you’re prepared to face any challenges that may come up. When you get this out of the way, you may find it easier to work on other issues that may come up as time goes by.
