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Getting married can change your finances for the better or for
the worse.
If you're going to get married, the last thing that you want to
think about is the potential for divorce. However, when it comes
to personal finance, getting married is a major step that can
have good - or disastrous - consequences, depending on how it is
handled. Divorces are usually very difficult for all parties
involved. Therefore, you should try to make sure that you know
exactly who will get what before you marry. That way, if you
ever do go through a divorce, there is already a pre-existing
agreement to fall back on, and the divorce proceedings can be
finished as quickly as possible.
Before you get married (though this does not need to be used as
a determination of whether or not you should marry) you should
sit down and go through all of your personal finances. You need
to find out how much money you currently have, compare the
living expenses that you will have as a couple, and determine
what your combined income will be.
After you have determined what you will have after you get
married, you should also think about what you and your future
spouse will want to have later on. For instance, if you're
planning on having children, this should be factored into your
financial plans - since you need a lot of money in order to make
sure that you will have enough to raise your child.
It's not necessary that you have a signed prenuptial agreement
in most cases, though you might want to if you want to be
completely safe. However, talking things over before you get
married will help you know what to expect if things don't work
out, and will give your finances some direction.
Other decisions that you should make include whether or not you
will have a joint bank account. This will have to do with how
well you trust and know your future spouse. While it is
traditional to share a bank account, most couples find it easier
to keep separate bank accounts, or to have separate bank
accounts and a smaller, shared account for home expenses.
No matter what you decide, it's important to realize that
getting married will have a major effect on your personal
finances. Therefore, you should always make sure that you have a
good idea of what will happen before you tie the knot.
About the author:
Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.cashbazar.com. Visit
his website for the latest on personal finance, debt
elimination, budgeting, credit cards and real estate.
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