Marriage – the facts you need to know - 31
· You need to know that if he grew up overindulged, then he will feel entitled to the best of everything, whether or not you two can afford it.
· You need to know that if she grew up scrimping and saving, then she'll worry all the time about not having enough.
· You need to know how your spouse feels about credit cards: should they be paid off every month, or should a balance be carried forward?
· You need to know that if the two of you make a lot of money and don't communicate, your problems will be that much more expensive.
· You need to know to invest in software like Quicken. It tells you where the money's going.
· You need to know there should be no secret bank accounts. It's weird, it's lying by omission, and can instill a lack of trust.
· You need to know the power of compounding interest. It means regular little deposits can make you rich over thirty or forty years. Talk to your financial adviser.
· You need to know you can avoid most financial emergencies and arguments by having enough savings to ride out the bad times.
· You need to know a lot of fights about money can be avoided by making a budget. You can find tons of information about creating one online.
· You need to know that each of you should have some mad money to spend without explanation.
· You need to know to pay bills together. This keeps one person from being scared to death while the other person lives in a fantasyland.
· You need to know that just because your wife is in finance doesn't mean she will be good managing the checkbook.
· You need to know not only your spouse's financial habits and goals but also your own.
· You need to know each other's tolerance of risk: one person may want to invest in oil wells while the other one thinks CDs are too volatile.
· You need to know that having a pile of money doesn't keep you from being a miserable couple.
· You need to know that a good financial counselor can keep you from making an appointment with a marriage counselor.
· You need to know if one of you is thinking there should be a stay-at-home parent. And what the financial impact of that would be.
· You need to know that sometimes life and finances will require you to downsize.
· You need to know that establishing a budget and then sticking to it means you don't have to lie awake at night worrying about money. You can lie awake at night worrying about other things.
