Finances in Marriage?

[GoldenEagle]

How To View Finances After Being Married?

 

Here's some recommendations: (click link for full article)

1. Typically There are 3 Approaches to Finances in Marriage

A. Joint Finances or “Pool Everything” Approach 

B. Joint with Separate Finances or “Middle Ground” Approach 

C. Separate Finances or “Independent” Approach 

It is up to each couple to determine how they will handle money. That said I’m going to assume either option A or B for rest of the post.

2. Finances need to be talked about.

3. Decide what your goals and objectives are together.

4. Create a Budget and Discuss Together.

5. Tackle Debt Head on as a Couple.

6. Agree Upon Major Purchases.

7. Agree Upon an “Allowance” for Each Spouse.

8. Schedule Follow-ups.

9. Save 10 to 15% of Your Household Income Each Month.

10. Be Honest About Finances. 

 

What has worked for you in your marriage? How do you view finances after being married?

God bless,

GE

[The_Patriot21]

married couples dont have to discuss finances? what are you talking about, once you get married your just made of dough! right?

[other one]

11.  stay out of debt....except for home, car and health, stay out of debt.

[missmuffet]

I used to be married.I would always go with option A.Why would you want to have separate accounts?Isn't marriage a together deal?Before you get married it is very important to talk about finances.And don't marry that guy if you see red flags in the financial department.

[missmuffet]

11.  stay out of debt....except for home, car and health, stay out of debt.

I agree with that.

[The_Patriot21]

I would say even for car and home stay out of it. homes are difficult I know, we do need a place to live-but as far as cars go, theres no reason why you cant buy those outright. If you know how to shop you can find perfectly nice older vehicles that are every bit as nice as newer ones. All my vehicles are paid off right now. My project car, my wifes expedition and my truck. Theres ways to do it to-like with my current pickup-it was out of my price range, I ended up selling the pickup I had as well as purchasing an older, used pickup and selling it for a profit, and used the money from both to pay for the newer one. Keep trading up till you get what you want, and shop around, youd be amazed at the deals I find on craigslists and the local paper. The trick is to find older couples who have a good deal of money already-they are far more likely to have taken care of the vehicle, and they often don't want as much as their worth as they don't need the money.

[missmuffet]

I would say even for car and home stay out of it. homes are difficult I know, we do need a place to live-but as far as cars go, theres no reason why you cant buy those outright. If you know how to shop you can find perfectly nice older vehicles that are every bit as nice as newer ones. All my vehicles are paid off right now. My project car, my wifes expedition and my truck. Theres ways to do it to-like with my current pickup-it was out of my price range, I ended up selling the pickup I had as well as purchasing an older, used pickup and selling it for a profit, and used the money from both to pay for the newer one. Keep trading up till you get what you want, and shop around, youd be amazed at the deals I find on craigslists and the local paper. The trick is to find older couples who have a good deal of money already-they are far more likely to have taken care of the vehicle, and they often don't want as much as their worth as they don't need the money.

My dad always said "We won't get it unless it is paid for by cash".He never used credit cards.

[The_Patriot21]

its a good rule to live by-if everyone lived by it, I daresay our entire country wouldn't be in the mess were in now. Just for those doubters out there that dont believe me on car shopping-few years ago, I was looking for a truck (my last one the one I sold to buy my new one) I saw an add in the paper for a 97 F-150 lariat for $1000. Now I looked at it, it had high mileage and needed a little work, but it still blue booked at $7000. I took this to the seller because I didn't want to rip him off and said hey-your trucks worth a good deal more-he said no thats fine all he wanted was the $1000, he was just looking to get rid of it so he could purchase a new truck. That truck served me for 5 years and 46,000 miles, and I just resold it for just 50 bucks less then I paid for it. its called save your pennies shop your deals. The new pickup I bought is a 97 F-250-valued at 5-6000 grand I paid 2500 for. I got the money by selling my F-150 and by buying a older 85 f-250 I had again, found a good deal on (purchased at 800 well below market value in this area) and resold for 1200 (still below market value, trucks like that go for between 1500-2000+ in this area) so if you save your money and perhaps are good with wheeling and deeling, you can own nice vehicles and have them paid off. 

 

I had a college professor who made 30,000 a year, not much-who saved his pennies, and went out and purchased a $40,000 corvette all in cash from money he had saved up over the years. It is possible to have nice things like a 40,000 dollar car and pay up front-while not making a lot of money, you just have to be smart about it and be willing to work for it.

[GoldenEagle]

married couples dont have to discuss finances? what are you talking about, once you get married your just made of dough! right?

 

Hey Pat I guess you're talking about this from the OP? 2. Finances need to be talked about.

 

You'd be suprised how many couples actually don't talk about finances. It seems obvious but in many cases people avoid any and all talks of finances. When they do talk it is pretty much an all out war.

 

I would say even for car and home stay out of it. homes are difficult I know, we do need a place to live-but as far as cars go, theres no reason why you cant buy those outright. If you know how to shop you can find perfectly nice older vehicles that are every bit as nice as newer ones. All my vehicles are paid off right now. My project car, my wifes expedition and my truck. Theres ways to do it to-like with my current pickup-it was out of my price range, I ended up selling the pickup I had as well as purchasing an older, used pickup and selling it for a profit, and used the money from both to pay for the newer one. Keep trading up till you get what you want, and shop around, youd be amazed at the deals I find on craigslists and the local paper. The trick is to find older couples who have a good deal of money already-they are far more likely to have taken care of the vehicle, and they often don't want as much as their worth as they don't need the money.

 

Coming from someone who bought a vehicle cash, the financed a vehicle, then bought another vehicle cash I'd say I agree with you. Buy the vehicle outright if you can. Save up and count on replacing your vehicles every 10 years or so.

I also like the idea of trading, buying, and selling vehicles until you get what you want.

[GoldenEagle]

11.  stay out of debt....except for home, car and health, stay out of debt.

I agree particularly on the home and health one. Paying for a house cash is really tough. House rates are really low right now though so it might be a good time to buy.

A couple of % points could literally mean tens of thousands of dollars savings.

I'd also add:

 

12. Be generous. Give to the church, to the poor, to your family, to your neighbors, etc. as God leads.