Money Talk Matters – Premarital Financial Program

Engaged Couples, Brides and even Newlyweds

For some of you, there are only a few months until your wedding day happens. Take the time to listen to this candid interview with Weddingdetails.com about Money and Marriage.

How do you begin the talk?
What are some of the red flags?
Hasn’t money always been a part of marriage and much more..

Take the time to listen and leave your comments here at Moneytalkmatters.com

http://www.vertio.net/player/play.php?id=1943

Today, I was doing my research and reading on Marriage and Money of course. I came across this story on Abcnews.com titled Marriage and Money: Husbands get the financial benefit – which I would strongly recommend you read.

This article discusses how women today are bringing home more income than their husbands. Some find it difficult to cope with. I must share with you, my husband and I have always been of the mindset that it does not matter who brings home more or less as long as the household bills are taken care of. We have experienced in our marriage seasons where his income has been greater for several years and then other years mine has been greater. Regardless, we have always taken care of our household and did not let that become an issue for us.

Caution: Do not get caught up in what “SOCIETY” has to say about the husband bringing home more money than the woman or even vice versa. What husbands and wives should focus on at the end of the day is what works for their marriage, are their mutual financial goals being accomplished and are the household finances being taken care of. That is all that matters.

Do not even allow friends or family members to speak negatively about either spouse’s earning potential. It is all about you and your husband (and kids if applicable) but that’s it.

Engaged Couples – Brides-to-Be -Fiance’s

Would you marry someone with major debt? What would you consider to be a deal breaker when it comes to debt? Take a look at this article that was on “Glamour Magazine”.

Have you thought about this subject or is this a subject that you choose to ignore? Let me caution you either way – debt does impact a marriage whether it is brought into the marriage or incurred once married. Factors that I believe should be considered is financial plan, work ethic and willingness to resolve and remove the debt.

Entering into a marriage with debt takes away from the opportunity to nurture and build a relationship, yet places the majority of the focus on removing debt and alleviating the financial stress that pulls at the relationship which can lead to pointing the finger.

If you need assistance on talking about finances and removing debt, contact me through this site. I do provide one-on-one counseling for couples and/or individuals.

Brides-to-be and Grooms if the parents of the bride are not helping, remember – the wedding is technically all about the two of you. Do not let the fact that they are not helping stop the two of you from getting married. It is not that serious. Do not let your parents manipulate the situation by not helping with the wedding plans.

For those couples that are dealing with parents on either side not helping, figure out what you can afford based on your finances. Listen, frankly you could even go to the Justice of the Peace and spend some of the money on a nice reception or put it towards your honeymoon.

Groom – a word of caution for you is to make sure that your bride-to-be is happy but not at the expense of creating more and elaborate debt for a wedding. Sure enough she will need to be comforted because she will be hurt that her parents are not helping out. Sadly enough they are not thinking about the message that they are sending to their daughter.

Groom love your bride for who she is and create a wedding that she will not ever forget nor expect.

Ladies – let me say to you do not be in such a hurry to get married that you ignore the red flags while you are dating. I can understand this friend and that friend have gotten married and maybe you are beginning to feel as if you are the last one to get married. That does not constitute in any way shape or form that you should lower your standards, accept mediocre in order to get married so you can say that you are married too.

What are the red flags you seeing?

(1) Disrespect?
(2) Not paying his bills?
(3) Non-existent work ethic
(4) Unacceptable language

If you are seeing any of these and it makes you uncomfortable, do not disregard them. There is a reason it is a red flag and pay attention. You deserve the best. Sure, nobody is perfect. However, you do have a choice and do not have to be in a hurry to get married just because everyone else. It does not matter how young or old you are it is important to take your time. How many stories have you heard from girlfriends or older relatives saying, they wish they had waited to get married?

I cannot stress the importance of taking your time. When you make decisions in the heat of the moment, usually they turn out to have long lasting consequences that you might not like. So I encourage you today to pay attention to the red flags because it will serve you will in many relationships, not just marriage.

Help is here for Wives that are married, widowed, divorced and even those that have a faith foundation that are seeking answers, solutions when it comes to every day money and marriage questions. This site is for wives who are committed to making a difference in their Money and Marriage, not for the complainers, negative that want to complain without taking action. No room or time for that. Time for Marriages to succeed because of steps taken in regards to money.

Get recommendations and/or answers to:
We need to save, but he is spending
Verbal abuse about money is affecting the marriage
How to establish financial goals
Is Divorce the answer when financial issues exist
Unresolved financial issues leading to divorce and much, much, more

Members will have access to this site 24/7 in the comfort and privacy of their own home. No other member will know they are on. There are downloadable ebooks, interviews with other experts regarding divorce and child support and much more. Members will be invited to a live chat that will take place the second Thursday of every month but is not mandatory.

Membership drive begins today from January 4 through February 4, 2010. For every member that joins, they will be placed into a drawing for:

Week 1 – Audio Teaching “The Debt Stops Here” – 4 cd set
Week 2 – A 30 minute session with Dr. Taffy regarding your personal finances
Week 3 – Book – So He Cheated, Now What by Nicole Cleveland
Week 4 – Gift Card (total surprise)

Winners will be notified and prizes sent at the beginning of February. Must be a member in good standing at the time of prize sent.

Go to www.marriagemoneymatters.com and click on Member Benefits to become a member today. Answers are waiting for you. Where else could you pay $19.95 per month and get access to financial guidance at home, ability to write a personal finances expert and wife that will give you answers without your being embarrassed!

Join Today! It’s time for a NEW BEGINNING that could change your money and marriage even now.

I was doing some reading last night on money and marriage and discovered this article sharing how students are not waiting to get married. The motivation for some of these students was that individually they could not afford to pay for their college education. Therefore, once they were married they qualified for a different financial aid package.

WHOAAA! That was a big one for me to read because in my mind they did not think about the responsibilities that come with being married. Not only will they have student loans, but what about the other person’s existing debt. Did they even think about that. I don’t see that as a solution, if you cannot afford to pay for college – marry the person that you are dating so they can pay for your tuition as well.

Listen, when two people get married more than likely one person is bringing some financial baggage into the marriage. Whether or not that has been discussed is another whole post. But the point I am making here is that you should not be so short-sighted or quick to think of this as the only remedy and evaluate what your priorities are. I imagine that there are more stressors as young, married college students, especially if you have different majors. I can see it already, one spouse will get mad if the other one is not there when they have time.

Students – look at the big picture and not what you consider to be the short-term solution to something very valuable. I want you to read this article for yourself – “Studies in marriage“. Hmm, question – What happens if there comes a time when neither one of you can afford to pay for college?