Money Honey

When I was growing up, I loved to play house with my friends. We would assign who would be the "mommy", the "daddy", and the children. The children had to obey the parents, the mommy had to cook food, and the daddy had to farm or work. Traditional, I know...but there you go, we were like 7.

You know one thing children never assign when they play house? Who pays the mortgage? Who makes a budget? Who does the taxes?

Money is something we don't think about much as children. I mean I don't know, maybe now they have a Leapfrog "Do Your Own Budget" game, but not as far as I know.

Money is also something most of us think will just work itself out when we get married. I'm telling you though, it's not smart to get married without some serious and realistic talks with your honey about money.

Some things to discuss:

1)Who will earn income? How much income do you and your partner expect to be earning once you are married?

2)What kind of budget will you have together? Do each of you know how to stick to a budget?

3) How much debt will you bring into the marriage? What kinds of debt?

4) What do you and your partner like to spend money on?

5) Will you create a joint banking account? Or keep finances separate?

6) How do you each feel about credit cards? Meaning what would you use credit for, and do you usually carry a balance, or pay the balance off each month?

7) What are your long term financial goals? What are your short term ones?

Have frank discussions about money can save alot of arguments. It can also help you work as a team and come with plans, goals, and solutions together!