January 25, 2012

Top 5 Money and Marriage Lessons from the POTUS State of the Union Address

By admin in Money and Marriage In the NewsMoney Before Marriage Lesson

There I was last night glued to the television to listen to the President Obama's State of the Union Address. I was listening and making mental notes because some of the things that he said could easily be applied to one of my favorite topics "Money and Marriage". For those couples that are engaged, newly married or even married beyond newlywed prepare to take notes. Top 5 Money and Marriage Lessons from the POTUS State of the Union Address: (1) "Everyone should get a fair shot". When you enter into your marriage, both husband and wife should get a fair shot when it comes to money and marriage. The way you ensure everyone gets a fair shot is by communicating about your financial background and behavior prior to getting marriage so that everyone can start out on the same page. For those already married, I recommend you take time today and if you are not united when it comes to your money and marriage to get on the same page. Therefore you move forward the remainder in 2012 as a cohesive unit. (2) "Women need equal pay". Women receiving equal pay and some wives are already bringing home more income. HUSBANDS - do not let this cause you to feel threatened or even that you are less of a spouse because your wife presently generates more income. The focus should be are the financial goals and dreams being met. Are the household finances being taken care of? If there are children involved, are the children being taken care of? Look at the bigger picture. (3) "The Nation is greater because we built it together. The Nation is great because we get each other's back"!. Marriages all over the US could be even greater if husbands and wives realized they were on the same team and built the marriage together. Do you have your spouse's back regardless of what happens in the marriage? If husbands and wives communicated about money and what their goals and dreams ARE, how would it change their marriage right now? How many other lives (family, friends, co-workers and church members marriages would change) because of your marriage example? (4) "When the mission was about Osama Bin Laden, I was in the Situation room and sat next to Bob Gates who was George Bush's Defense secretary and Hilary Clinton, a woman who ran against me for President" and it wasn't about that. It was about THE MISSION". Married couples - time to wake up. When any challenge or issue present itself within your marriage - the focus of BOTH should be what are solutions that will benefit the overall marriage. Let's not begin the blame game or point fingers, yet we are in this together and what can we do to remove the challenge. (5) "A return to the American values of fair play and shared responsibility will help us protect our people and our economy. But it should also guide us as we look to pay down our debt and invest in our future". What are the values the husbands and wives have? How do each of you feel about saving, spending, retirement or even taking care of an elderly parent? In a marriage, there should be shared responsibility which will protect the marriage. Furthermore those values and being responsible should guide you throughout the marriage to help you set financial goals for the present and the future. Your values should compel you to work through financial challenges and invest in your future. As a Money and Marriage Advocate, if you take away anything from these lessons about money and marriage that I have shared from my "twist on the POTUS State of the Union Address" - may it be that when you work together there is nothing that you cannot accomplish. May your marriages be blessed and impacting those in your life. Copyright ©2012 – Dr. Taffy Wagner, CEPF – Permission granted to use and reproduce with proper citation.

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