Marriage – the facts you need to know - 30
· You need to know the "empty nest syndrome" lasts about ten minutes. Really.
· You need to know they might come back.
· You need to know love won't pay the mortgage. Money is important.
· You need to know if you're marrying a spender or a saver.
· You need to know a marriage is a merging of two financial lifestyles. One could be the Salvation Army; the other, Chanel.
· You need to know it's cheaper to get married. Yet you get the same ending as the expensive weddings do.
· You need to know financial security eliminates a lot of arguments.
· You need to know if you don't buy stuff you can't afford, you won't have financial problems.
· You need to know that if you put Rs. 3,00,000 on your credit card to get married, you'll have money problems from day one.
· You need to know to have financial discussions before you say "I do."
· You need to know to share your credit reports. This way both parties know what they're getting into.
· You need to know a credit report is the easiest way to tell how a person handles money.
· You need to know people are often more open with their bodies than they are about their financial situations.
· You need to know if your fiancé won't talk about money, you're going to have big problems.
· You need to know that if you're marrying a person with high credit card bills or personal loan expenses, those debts will become your problem.
· You need to know to develop a set of rules that will govern your financial behavior. Rules about not yelling at each other, not making accusations, no impulse buying—these are things you must agree on for financial and marital peace.
· You need to know to agree that neither one of you spends more than Rs. 5000 without telling the other. Even if you have separate accounts.
· You need to know that major purchases can be a financial strain if there's no budget or plan. And a major resentment if both parties don't agree.
· You need to know money problems break up more marriages than infidelity does. And often even that's caused by money issues.
· You need to know one of the great predictors of wealth is a solid marriage.
