Bringing Debts into a Marriage

Are you a credit card junkie? Credit card debt can often be a big, deep, dark secret for someone preparing for marriage. It's an uncomfortable subject to talk about. Do you bring it up before or after he slips the engagement ring on your finger (or before you slip it onto hers)? Or do you wait until after all the marriage preparations are in place? If there are large differences in your assets and liabilities, it may not be such a hot idea to get a joint bank account.

Furthermore, you may want to sign a prenuptial agreement just to be clear about what came before your marriage, and what came after. How you plan your wedding budget will largely determine how you approach money management as a married couple, in the long term. Wedding costs, by themselves can run up quite a tab. If you are noticing conflicts in the early stages of your joint money management, then get some financial marriage advice or premarital counseling. Couple counseling can be just as much a part of a healthy marriage as family or financial planning is. It's a way of ensuring solid communication skills from the get go; and that's important when debts and assets are about to be split right down the middle.

Nathan Dawson writes for http://www.marriedfinances.com and http://www.successfulmarriageresource.com, great online sources for marriage and finance information.