Financial planning is one of the key issues brides and grooms need to talk about before they get married.
"You really have to know what you are getting into," says financial planning expert John Logan. "It really helps couples avoid the bumps and bruises that can plague marriages because there is no aspect of your financial planning that doesn't affect your relationship."
What should you talk about? Everything. "Both of you should look on this as part of the marriage, because it is," continues Logan. "Decisions you make about money affect your life. This is not the time or place to gloss things over or try to make things sound better than they are. You need to have complete honesty and trust with each other. Don't hide your debt or your spending habits and don't pretend you have different spending patterns than you do. Like everything in your marriage, money should be a partnership."
Often in relationships, one member of the couple has a "binge and purge" approach to spending, while the other has a devout commitment to savings. While these kind of differences are not impossible to overcome, it's important to understand each other's attitude toward money. "It's the number 1 issue in relationships," says Logan.
One of the things Logan advises his clients to do is to discuss how their parents handled money. Lifelong habits are often begun in childhood. Once you understand where they past patterns were set, it will help you to establish values and goals as a couple. When establishing these goals, you should be very specific.
"Instead of saying, 'Yes, we want to travel,'" Logan says, "Determine how much you need to save and where you want to go."
Logan advises every couple to put down a budget together, especially if you have different spending styles. This should include savings, because spending comes naturally, but saving takes discipline. "Make sure you have enough money to cover six months of living expenses, and then put as much money as you can into a 401(k)," he adds.
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