So he got down on one knee and popped the question. You told him “Yes!” What happens next? Perhaps saying yes was the easy part. After you’ve called your family and friends to announce the good news the real work sets in. Let’s take a look at some questions and guidance that we might give to an almost real life couple. I’ll call them Timmy and Lailah.
Timmy and Lailah, like a lot of couples, met, dated for awhile and eventually fell in love. Timmy got up his courage, saved up some cash and asked Lailah for her hand in marriage. Well now the ring is on her finger and properly sized. They’ve had a nice dinner and then “Wham!” Reality hits. Where do we get hitched? Who’s going to be there when we tie the knot? Where are we going to land after we jump the broom? Who do we get to cater? Who’s going to be the flower girl? And let us not forget what color cummerbund is Timmy going to wear? All of these things are important and many involve monetary decisions but they are temporary. After the wedding they are old news. Let’s peer into our crystal ball of the future and look at some issues.
Who will pay the bills after Timmy carries Lailah across the threshold? I would advise Timmy and Lailah to sit down and have a discussion about this. They should come to an agreement of how household bills will be paid. There are many different ways that couples have handled this topic. Many couples pay all household expenses out of a joint account. In most cases, each spouse has a separate account that they can use at their discretion. Perhaps the personal accounts can be used for mad money, golf expenditures or whatever makes them happy. In some instances, couples have simply divided the responsibility for certain bills. Maybe Timmy will take care of the mortgage and utilities while Lailah covers the car payment, groceries and the like. There is no one size fits all answer but the discussion should happen sooner rather than later.
If it hasn’t happened already, Timmy and Lailah should also have a heart to heart discussion about their past. No, I don’t mean past lovers. I’m talking about their financial past. Does Timmy have a sparkling credit history? Does Lailah have a ton of student loan debt to bring along for the ride? Everything needs to be put on the table. There may be some things that affect the decision of how to file taxes going forward. As an example, if one spouse has tax related issues following them around it might be best to keep the finances relatively separate. This way if there is some sort of levy or garnishment any potential fallout can be mitigated.
None of this stuff sounds terribly romantic but it is incredibly important. Nothing can put a damper on romance down the road like money problems. Having an open and frank discussion now can go a long way to keeping the fires of romance burning later.
Best of luck to you Timmy and Lailah! I’m rooting for you.
leeBaker
Lee Baker, CFP®
President
Apex Financial Services
Tucker, GA
Wealth management, finance advisor, financial advisor,
Insurance agents, long term insurance, insurance long term, retirement plan, financial advisors, financial planner, retirement planning,Planning for retirement, retirement plans, retirement income, retirement savings, financial planners, financial and investment, investment financial,Insurance for seniors, life insurance annuities, annuities life insurance,Financial planning for, retirement annuities, retirement investment,Retirement and investment, financial retirement, financial planning,Retirement insurance, insurance and retirement, insurance retirement,Insurance retirement, fee financial planner, the financial planner,Retirement annuity, life insurance financial, fee based financial planner,Fee based financial planners, fee based financial advisor, senior life insurance, retirement planner, fee only financial planners, funeral insurance, Retirement options, planning advisors, financial planning advisors, Insurance annuities, fee base,The Woodlands,Retirement savings,Financial planners,Financial and investment,Investment financial,Retirement planning,Retirement plans,Retirement income,Homes for sale TX,Life insurance annuities,Annuities life insurance,Planning for retirement,Insurance agency,Insurance retirement,
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Timmy and Lailah, like a lot of couples, met, dated for awhile and eventually fell in love. Timmy got up his courage, saved up some cash and asked Lailah for her hand in marriage. Well now the ring is on her finger and properly sized. They’ve had a nice dinner and then “Wham!” Reality hits. Where do we get hitched? Who’s going to be there when we tie the knot? Where are we going to land after we jump the broom? Who do we get to cater? Who’s going to be the flower girl? And let us not forget what color cummerbund is Timmy going to wear? All of these things are important and many involve monetary decisions but they are temporary. After the wedding they are old news. Let’s peer into our crystal ball of the future and look at some issues.
Who will pay the bills after Timmy carries Lailah across the threshold? I would advise Timmy and Lailah to sit down and have a discussion about this. They should come to an agreement of how household bills will be paid. There are many different ways that couples have handled this topic. Many couples pay all household expenses out of a joint account. In most cases, each spouse has a separate account that they can use at their discretion. Perhaps the personal accounts can be used for mad money, golf expenditures or whatever makes them happy. In some instances, couples have simply divided the responsibility for certain bills. Maybe Timmy will take care of the mortgage and utilities while Lailah covers the car payment, groceries and the like. There is no one size fits all answer but the discussion should happen sooner rather than later.
If it hasn’t happened already, Timmy and Lailah should also have a heart to heart discussion about their past. No, I don’t mean past lovers. I’m talking about their financial past. Does Timmy have a sparkling credit history? Does Lailah have a ton of student loan debt to bring along for the ride? Everything needs to be put on the table. There may be some things that affect the decision of how to file taxes going forward. As an example, if one spouse has tax related issues following them around it might be best to keep the finances relatively separate. This way if there is some sort of levy or garnishment any potential fallout can be mitigated.
None of this stuff sounds terribly romantic but it is incredibly important. Nothing can put a damper on romance down the road like money problems. Having an open and frank discussion now can go a long way to keeping the fires of romance burning later.
Best of luck to you Timmy and Lailah! I’m rooting for you.
leeBaker
Lee Baker, CFP®
President
Apex Financial Services
Tucker, GA
Wealth management, finance advisor, financial advisor,
Insurance agents, long term insurance, insurance long term, retirement plan, financial advisors, financial planner, retirement planning,Planning for retirement, retirement plans, retirement income, retirement savings, financial planners, financial and investment, investment financial,Insurance for seniors, life insurance annuities, annuities life insurance,Financial planning for, retirement annuities, retirement investment,Retirement and investment, financial retirement, financial planning,Retirement insurance, insurance and retirement, insurance retirement,Insurance retirement, fee financial planner, the financial planner,Retirement annuity, life insurance financial, fee based financial planner,Fee based financial planners, fee based financial advisor, senior life insurance, retirement planner, fee only financial planners, funeral insurance, Retirement options, planning advisors, financial planning advisors, Insurance annuities, fee base,The Woodlands,Retirement savings,Financial planners,Financial and investment,Investment financial,Retirement planning,Retirement plans,Retirement income,Homes for sale TX,Life insurance annuities,Annuities life insurance,Planning for retirement,Insurance agency,Insurance retirement,
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Financial planning advisors,Business financial planner,Senior citizen insurance,
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Tomball Texas,Houses for sale in TX,Spring Texas,The woodlands TX,Conroe TX,Woodlands TX,Montgomery TX,Marketing plans,Executive summary,Business plans,
Small business plans,Writing business plans,Business plans for small business,
Business plan for a company,Business marketing plans,Services business plans,
Marketing business plans,Marketing and business plans,Business plans marketing,
Business and marketing plans,Financial business planning,Business planning financial,
Strategic and business planning,Marketing and business plan,Startup business plans,
Business startup plans,Writing an executive summary,Executive business summaries,
Business executive summaries,Writing a executive summary,Financial business plan,
Financial plan for business,Financial plan for a business,Financial plan for a business plan,
Realtor business plan,Business executive summary,Executive summary business,
Executive summary of a business,Executive summary of business,Executive summary for business,Executive business summary,Developing business plan
http://www.donpbaker.com
http://www.donpbaker.com/Home_Page.html
http://www.donpbaker.com/Real_Estate.html
http://www.donpbaker.com/About_Us.html
http://www.donpbaker.com/Contact_Us.html
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheWoodlandsNews