Your Personal Finances

Family Issues

Getting married is one of those major life-changing events that will have a huge financial impact on your life. Today, typically, marriage means two incomes, sharing debts, setting joint long-term financial goals, and two different ways of managing money. And, that last issue can be a real problem. Hiding financial resources, free use of credit cards or no spending limits is not a recipe for a successful marriage. In fact, it's a well-known fact that one of the major reasons for marriage breakdown is financial distress.

Here are some tips from Credit Canada on how to handle joint finances going forward.

• Communicate, communicate, communicate. Setting aside a regular time for discussion of money matters (say a Sunday morning) can help you avoid problems.
• Keep each other regularly informed about all your assets, savings, and debts. Avoid surprises, they can often be misinterpreted and cause problems.
• Develop some short and long term goals together and use your weekly financial discussions to monitor your progress.
• Make sure each of you has a credit card in your own name. Two good individual credit histories are better than one when you apply for a loan. And, if one of you has a blemished credit record, the other's clean record can be a great advantage.
• Divide responsibilities for regular financial tasks as evenly as possible so that neither of you feels you're shouldering the entire burden.
• If your financial situation changes – for better or worse – make sure you agree before any decisions are made. For example, if you have an unexpected windfall, decide together what to do with that money. If one of you suffers a job loss, work together on how to change your household spending habits until your partner gets a new job.

Be sure to get advice from a professional financial advisor to start your financial life together on the right foot. An advisor will be able to set you on the right course to meet your shared life goals.

More Personal Finances -- Consumer Alert -- Credit/Debt -- Employment Issues -- Family Issues -- Home Ownership