Congratulations, newlyweds!
After all that planning and your big day, you probably want this honeymoon phrase to last forever. Well, it will — as long as you do something decidedly unsexy: talk about money.
Why is that? Money is the number-one cause of fights in marriage, but since that’s no fun to think about, consider this instead: Establishing open dialogue around finances can help you ensure a long and happy marriage.
A May study by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling found that of engaged couples, 45% thought talking about money would be a necessary but awkward conversation, while about a quarter thought such a conversation would lead to fights, reveal financial issues one partner was not aware of or even cause the couple to call off the wedding. Only 32% thought it would be an easy and productive conversation.
“You have two people raised in different households, and how they were raised around money and the conversations they heard about money impact the way they behave,” says Therese Nicklas, a certified financial planner with U.S. Wealth Management in Boston.
“It’s important to get that information out on the table so you can set goals, understand what is important to each of them and they can move forward as a couple, as a family.”
Here are tips for getting your marriage started on the right financial foot.
Photo: Sergio Vassio/Flickr
