In about a month I will be heading down to sunny Florida for my little sister’s wedding. Linda and I have gotten to be pretty involved with the wedding plans so far and it has been a lot of fun. So far we have gotten to add “creative” input to the planning and at the ceremony I will be playing guitar and singing – oh and, believe it or not, I get to play Ukelele for a song as well! That should be fun! 
Here we are together a few years ago...
So even though little sis and her fiance are pretty sharp when it comes to managing their money, I have to pass along some big brother advice. So I wanted to see if I could get some feedback from the readers about what money tips or advice had they wished they known when they got married. What mistakes did you make? What did you do right?
A few great articles with tips for newlyweds
These are some good articles I found from around the web…
- Personal Finance for Newlyweds
- Financial Tips for Newlyweds
- Marriage and money advice for newlyweds
- 6 money mistakes newlyweds make
- Just Married: Financial Planning for newlyweds
- Three money mistakes made by newlyweds
- Top 7 financial tips for newlyweds
Netflix Giveaway
I still haven’t tried Netflix, because we found a few other cheap ways to watch movies. But for the convenience factor of it, I am sure we will give it a go at some point. So, this week the giveaway will be for a 3-month subscription to Netflix. As always, to be entered, just head over to the message boards and comment on one of the threads.
And a few Blog Carnivals from the week...Personal Finance, Money Hacks, Homesteading.
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What has worked well for us is combining accounts but each having a monthly amount we can spend on clothing. By combining accounts we work as a team, but having separate clothing budgets gives us some freedom as well. When we were first married we’d call each other from a store to ask whether we could buy this or that. It didn’t work very well. So, we have monthly amounts we’re free to spend as long as we stick to the budgeted amount. I know couples who do with for other things like lunches with friends, but it’s worked for us just to have separate clothing budgets.
Get on the same page. Statistics show that if you and your spouse are on the same page in 4 categories, your marriage has a much higher chance of survival.
>Money
>Kids
>Religion
>Family
If you haven’t already, then start talking about these things. Your attitude towards them (your family drives me nuts), your expectations (I’m not changing diapers), and your plans for the future (I don’t want to work once we have kids). Communicate, communicate, communicate.
We’re so excited to hear advice from people who have been through it! Thanks!!
Don’t feel the need to color-coordinate everything in the house the first month.
Tastes change, and the wedding gift money (if any) will be gone before you know it.
Dave Ramsey’s “Financial Peace University” covers it all.
It’s a great wedding gift.
I agree with George. We went thru Financial Peace in our first year of marriage and got us on same page. Not only we talked about our goals we wrote them down.
FPU says it all, but if they don’t know what that is, then tell them to stay debt free at all costs!!! (FPU stands for Financial Peace University (: )
I have been married for 22 years and my advise is DO NOT GET INTO DEBT! Use credit sparingly (if at all), instead pay with cash as much as possible. And….. PRAY over all decisions. God will guide you to His best for you, if you put Him first in your life and in your marriage.
May God bless you and your future husband as you both embark in the best journey of your lives!
I have been married for a year now and we knew were in debt before we got married, but we decided to seek financial advice well in advance.
We commited ourselves to getting out of debt from day one and we are still working on it. 1st year in marriage and have paid over $40,000 in credit cards debt, school and student loans; and we are still working on it.
Lessons learned:
-Make a ‘living’ budget(something that represent your financial position)
-Talk about money at least twice a week. (while looking at our budget)
-Live within your budget.. do not compare yourselves with other couples your age or friends. (they are in a different financial position)
-As nancy has noted, pray about your financial position and ask God for wisdom on everyday choices.
-DO NOT get extra debt.
-Don’t let debt keep you from God’s blessings.. Pay your tithe, visit the sick, donate to the needy….
Joseph
*Spend less than you make
*Begin saving for retirement as early as possible
*Be VERY careful with credit cards
*Learn the beauty of simplicity
*Make a rule that any purchase over “X” amount (ours is $100) must be discussed w/spouse before purchasing
*Find charities you both support and give to them regularly
*DO NOT worry about how friends/neighbors live…most of the time it’s all for show and they have nothing saved
We began our marriage in debt. We decided early on to change that and we did. Since we’ve adopted the above “rules” life has become much simpler and happier!
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