Money Questions to Ask Before You Get Married

Corey —  November 12, 2012

Marriage is a big step in most people’s lives. Before you get married, buy a house together, etc., it is good to ask various questions in order for you to understand your other future half better. No matter how much you think you know someone, there are always new things to discover and figure out.

Figuring out things that may lead to future money problems is always a good idea. Talking too much with your significant other is not a real thing, talk about as much as you can!

Of course marriage is not all about money, but it is a good idea to talk about money. A lot of our lives involve money, whether we like it or not. Being prepared for anything that might happen is always a good thing.

1. How will money be divided?

This is a big topic that needs to be talked about before you make any big decisions with your significant other. Will all of your money going into one pot and you both share it? Or will bills be divided in half or by percentage according to how much each of you make?

If this is not talked about until after you get married or until after you buy a house, things might not turn out so well because there is the possibility that someone will be very surprised if its not something that they wanted.

2. How much debt do you each have?

Money may not be everything to you, but how much debt is too much? What if the person who you have been with for a couple of years secretly had been hiding debt from you? It’s best to talk about something like this before you get married or make any other big decision together.

If you found out that your spouse had $100,000 in credit card debt, would this change how you felt about this person?

3. Will there be a prenuptial agreement?

Many people think negative things out prenuptial agreements, such as how they are not “romantic” or completely defeat the purpose of getting married. However, in many instances, it can be extremely beneficial.

4. What are your goals?

Talking about retirement is important as well. Even though retirement is most likely far, far away for the both of you, you can never truly talk about it enough. How will the two of you save for retirement? If something does end up happening in the end where the two of you are no longer together, how retirement will be divided among the two of you or what will happen should be planned out.

Talking about when retirement will happen is important as well. If one of you wants to stay home when there are children, this should be talked about if you know for sure. Something big such as staying home can drastically change your family’s retirement goals.

5. Who will manage the money?

Managing money in the household is important. Usually one person does this in order to eliminate anything repetitive and to limit the amount of time doing household financial things.

However, both you and your partner should know how the money and financial events are ran in the household. This is so that if something happens to either of you which would limit your financial life and bills being paid, then at least the other person knows how to do so. Disruptions can be expensive!

What did you make sure to talk about before you got married?




One response to Money Questions to Ask Before You Get Married

  1. Couples should always discuss having children: when to start trying, how many to have, and if mom or dad wants to stay at home or continue to work, etc. The projected size of your family has a profound impact on money and many couples neglect this step.

    It impacts the size and type of house you buy, where you work, how you save and spend. One could argue that couples can’t discuss finances adequately without covering this topic first.