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Five Money Tips for Newlyweds

The management of finances can create stress in a marriage, but the following tips can help keep the lines of communication open in order to avoid problems down the road.

Talk About Your Finances

Being open and honest with your partner about your finances is critical. Let your spouse know much credit card debt you are bringing into the marriage. As uncomfortable or embarrassing as it may be, it is important to lay it all out on the table so you can come up with a plan on how to tackle that debt. You and your spouse will also want to figure out how you will share marital and household expenses, including how much money each of you will contribute per month. Similarly, you will want to establish exactly where your payments will come from and if you want to use separate accounts or a shared account.

Share Financial Responsibilities

It goes without saying that each person in a relationship will have individual responsibilities, but finances should be shared. Having just one person in charge creates an unbalanced situation, and it can lead to arguments and resentment if one partner feels they must ask the other permission to spend money.

Consider Keeping Debts Separate

Often times couples enter into marriage with her and her own big ticket debt items, and it may be best to keep it that way. As a team, you will be working to tackle that debt together, but that doesn't always mean adding your spouse's name to your personal debt. Adding another person to a credit card or car loan can become problematic, particularly in the unfortunate event of a divorce. If your marriage ends and your ex fails to make payments, your credit score will suffer.

Understand Your Tax Bracket

If both you and your spouse earn over $68,000 in taxable income, combining those salaries will place you in a higher tax bracket, and you will face up to 28 percent in taxes versus the 25 percent you paid as singles. So be prepared by making sure you have plenty deducted from your paychecks throughout the year so you won't be faced with a tax bill when April rolls around.

Discuss the “What Ifs”

Although no one expects a divorce, it is important to understand that it is certainly a possibility. Though it's not a conversation you need to have daily, you and your spouse should discuss the “What Ifs”, and what may happen if the relationship were to come to an end. Consider how you would split your finances and possessions to avoid even bigger surprises if worse comes to worst.

For more advice on how to manage your finances as a married couple, contact the professionals at Advantage CCS for tips on household budgets, debt management and how to save to secure your financial future.