Financial issues are a leading cause of divorce.  Before you take the plunge, find out what you need to know so you don’t become a statistic.

Our guest Jeff will share some things he learned about preparing your finances for marriage.  Because once the honey moon is over and life starts, having systems in place to deal with finances will be important to your life as a married couple.

Some partners will bring an equal amount of financial knowledge into the marriage.  For many, one will know a lot more than the other.  For many people, this means managing money defaults to the more knowledgeable spouse.  This is not a good recipe for a happy marriage.  The partner dealing with the finances can feel resentful that such a big job isn’t being shared and the partner with less experience might feel left out of important decisions. Jeff was more knowledgeable about finance so he and his fiance took Dave Ramsey’s Peace University together to help get her up to speed.

One of the most important things to discuss before marriage is how much debt each of you have.  And how will the debt be handled?  Does it become a joint effort to pay off or is it still the responsibility of the individual partner?

Sometimes love doesn’t conquer all.  If the person you want to build a life with has what seems to you to be an insurmountable pile of debt, you may need to make some hard decisions.  They didn’t get to that point because they make good choices and while anyone can change, mostly they don’t.

Make sure each partner has some “fun money” that each can spend without justifying it to the other.  No one likes to feel every penny is being scrutinized.  Schedule regular meetings to reassess where you are and make any necessary tweeks.  Being open with each other about finances is really the key to managing them successfully.

That money causes so many families to break up is a travesty.  Don’t let it come between you and your spouse, talk about it, plan it, and manage it so you can live happily ever after.

 Show Notes

Unita Brewing MonkShine:  Belgian style blonde ale.

Ommegang Hop House:  Belgian style pale ale.

LMM Tool Box:  All the resources you need to manage your finances in one place.

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