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Before getting
married
discuss the following:
The Past:
The Present and
Future:
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Where are important financial
documents? Both should know.
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What are your financial
personalities? Are you a Saver
or Spender?
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What are your financial goals,
as a family and as individuals?
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What are your career goals?
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Who will pay the bills (that is
sending out checks or setting up
online payments)? Since this
needs to be done timely,
designate the best person to
accomplish the task routinely
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Who will coordinate the budget?
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What would you consider to be
essential/basic expenditures?
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What will be your monthly and
yearly expenditures?
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How will you pay for the
wedding?
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Will you maintain joint or
separate bank accounts?
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Will you have kids, how many and
when?
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How will you raise a family?
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How will you maintain Honesty
and Openness in financial
matters?
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How often will you talk about
money?
Review these
after getting married
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Update beneficiaries
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Update will
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Update name and driver’s license
where applicable
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Review insurance coverage if
applicable
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Establish family financial goals
and develop strategies to
achieve them
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Develop a plan for paying debt,
consolidate
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Develop a budget and calculate
net worth
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Review and discuss the weak
financial spots
Things to do
together as a couple
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Establish specific ways to
manage debt if there is any
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Save together and individually
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Review finances regularly
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Track spending
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Build credit scores as a couple:
payment history 35%, total
amounts owed 30%, length of
credit history 15%, new credit
10% and type of credit in use
10%
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Pay bills together from one
account. This reduces
misunderstandings instead of
each person picking certain
specific bills to pay.
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Open at least 1 joint checking
and one joint savings account
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Establish a bill paying system
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Establish a record keeping
system
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Establish retirement accounts
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Establish an emergency fund account
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Establish a repairs and maintenance account
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Once you have children, open bank accounts for them
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