Sunday, March 17, 2013

Marriage and Money


Marriage and Money

By Keith Bunn Jr.
March 17, 2013


The Vow

We've all been to a wedding before, so this part of a common wedding vow should sound familiar to all of us.

Pastor -- You, ___________ and ___________ have pledged your devotion to each other. It is not these words that have made your marriage real, but the God of love, who has welded your hearts together as one. He has said, "For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and shall be joined unto his wife and the two shall become one flesh."

Did you catch it? Let me repeat it. "...and the two shall become one..."
When a man and a woman get married, they are no longer two individuals anymore, they are one couple. Which means, you are now sharing your lives. There is no his and hers, it is ours.
It will be 12 years this year that Julie and I have been married and from day ONE, I have shared EVERYTHING with her. What is mine is her's, and what is her's is mine. PERIOD!! If we do have certain things as individuals, such as an e-mail, or Facebook page, etc... we know each other's passwords and can get into those things without other getting mad or upset about it. Because keeping things like that separate to where the other can't get in and see what's going on, allows doubt to creep into the marriage, which can lead to far more damaging things to your marriage later on.

Marriage and Money

Now how does all this affect your money? Well, the day after you get back from your honeymoon, you and your spouse have some things to do.

1) You go and add each other's name on the bank or credit union accounts, as well as any kind of investment accounts (IRAs, 401Ks, stocks, etc...). This money is now both of yours. 

2) If you have Will's, and your spouse isn't already on it, you need to add them now. None of us know when our time will come and I'm sure you don't want to leave your newly wedded spouse high and dry, especially if there are homes, cars, kids, etc... involved.

3) Make sure your spouse is named as the beneficiary on any and all life insurance policies, for the same reasons listed above.

4) Just as all the good things about money gets joined together in a marriage, so does all the bad things. All of your DEBTS are now joined and they are now "OUR" debts.

If either one of you are not willing to do any of these things because you are afraid the other is going to take advantage of you, then you shouldn't get married yet. You are not ready to be husband and wife.
Now if you are married already and you have separate accounts, my suggestion would be to join them as soon as possible. What are you waiting for? If your spouse refuses to do that, then you have a different problem, a marriage problem, and you should start talking about getting some marriage counseling.
Listen, money fights and money problems are the number one cause of divorce in this country. If you can get that part of your lives under control, you are way ahead of most couples and the odds of you having a good to great marriage is good.

Questions

1) Are you and your spouse living as a couple or individuals financially?

2) What steps could you and your spouse take to make your marriage more joined than separate?

3) Are there issues in your marriage to where you need counseling?

I hope my posts inspire you to look at what you’re doing financially and if needed, make some changes that will cause you to win financially. I also look forward to reading your views on any articles or postings that I may post. For more money news, facts and ideas, follow me on Facebook, or Twitter. Thank you!


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