All tagged couples
You can never be truly prepared when a spouse or partner dies. Don't be afraid to ask for help during this time. Keep in mind that the grieving process takes time and takes on so many different forms. On top of the heavy loss, there's also the need to contend with the current to-do list of life. This list focuses on the financial aspect, but as we know life is more than just about money, so please don't hesitate to find yourself the necessary therapy to help with your healing.
A man is not a financial plan.
I recently read an article on Yahoo! News "Confessions of a Divorce Lawyer" where a divorce lawyer runs through some of the common mistakes that her clients run into. The number #1 mistake was "People don't know enough about their spouse's finances." This is the kind of thing that drives me crazy.
Let's talk money, honey!
I met my boyfriend (now my husband) on Valentine's Day. As with any relationship, our path to becoming "official" took some time. By the time we became official, we had known each for months already. Earlier on in our relationship, we've always been pretty open about the range of topics we would discuss. From family to work to goals and dreams, nothing seemed out of the question to discuss. While we both didn't know how serious we were going to be, to me it was never too early to start thinking about the future.
Dual income, no kids? Take advantage.
A few years ago, while working in IT, my co-workers which were mostly men always talked about this concept of DINKs. As a 22 year old, I had no idea what that meant. I had never heard of the term before and was pretty surprised that a term like this existed. For those that are not familiar, DINK stands for Dual Income, No Kids. It describes a childless couple where both partners work. For a period of time, many couples will fall into this category as they settle into married life. I wanted to bring this concept up because there's an opportunity here if we stop to take a full look at it. Mainly, it's the opportunity to really coral all of your finances and set yourself up for Financial Independence before kids are in the picture. What can this look like?
