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5 Financial Decisions You Need to Make With Your New Spouse
The day you marry the love of your life is one of your happiest of your life. But while your head may be up in the clouds, you’re still going to need to make some down-to-earth financial decisions to ensure that your marriage is built on a solid foundation.
Money worries are the leading cause of stress in relationships, but by making the right decisions now, you can take some pressure off your brand-new marriage. Here are five major financial decisions you’ll need to sit down and discuss with your new spouse.
Joint or Separate Accounts
Different couples have different responses to this question, so in truth there is no “right” answer. But what is important is that you sit down with your spouse and decide just how much you want your financial lives to be interwoven.
Individual circumstances will also vary. Completely separate accounts can work if both people are working, but not if only one party is. Splitting the bills is another thing to be worked out in the case of separate accounts. One solution could be to open a joint account dedicated to paying off bills and other joint expenses, while still keeping separate savings accounts. In this case, each person may choose to contribute to the joint account in an amount proportional to their wages.
How to Deal With Debt
Research shows that 44 million Americans collectively hold almost $1.5 trillion in student debt, with 70% of college students graduating with significant loans. With this in mind, there’s a good chance that you or your spouse have some form of debt, student or otherwise.
Generally speaking, individual debts remain individual even after marriage. In Pennsylvania, the couple is only jointly responsible for debt they take out together or have both benefited from. That said, a marriage is a partnership, which means the two of you are in it together. You need to decide whether you want the debt repayments to still be borne individually, or if you’d like to work out an arrangement to jointly pay them off.
Buy or Rent a Property
The debate about whether to buy or rent has proponents with solid arguments on both sides. Some people like the idea of setting down roots and purchasing a home, whereas other people feel that their money is better invested in other ventures. Once again, there is no “right” answer to this question. But since property ownership is such a major financial commitment, this is something that should be hashed out early in the marriage. If you are set on owning your own property soon, make sure you and your spouse work out a savings plan to achieve your ownership goal.
Individual Budgets and Savings
Is one of you a shopaholic and the other a coupon cutter? Everybody has different views on the role that money plays in their lives, and this should be laid out and openly discussed. Your views will affect what portion of your salary you think should be saved, and will determine your individual monthly budgets as well.
Incongruent spending habits can lead to resentment, so you and your spouse should lay out how much you expect to save and spend each month. Always remember that the key to a successful relationship is compromise.
Having Children
Even more so than property ownership, the financial commitment that comes with having a child is very large. The Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotions estimates that it costs the average middle-income American family $233,610 to raise a child from birth until the age of 17.
While most couples would already have decided whether or not they would like to have children prior to marriage, the question of financial support must also be discussed. For instance, some parents are willing to pay for the cost of their children’s college educations, while others expect their children to pay their own way.
When open, honest conversation is prioritized in a marriage, financial stress and pressure can be greatly reduced. However, if both you and your spouse feel overwhelmed by all these financial decisions, we at Citadel are here to help. Schedule your free financial planning consultation today and let us help your marriage thrive.
Photo Credits: Shutterstock / Solis Images, Shutterstock / astarot
*Non-deposit investment products and services are offered through CUSO Financial Services, L.P. (“CFS”), a registered broker-dealer (Member FINRA/SIPC) and SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Products offered through CFS: are not NCUA/NCUSIF or otherwise federally insured, are not guarantees or obligations of the credit union, and may involve investment risk including possible loss of principal. Investment Representatives are registered through CFS. Citadel has contracted with CFS to make non-deposit investment products and services available to credit union members.
