January 21, 2012

Premarital Financial Counseling: What are two things that make a marriage solid?

By admin in Money Before Marriage Lesson

I received this question: Dr. Wagner, when it comes to premarital financial counseling what are two things that make a marriage solid? The main two things that make a marriage solid are Communication and Trust. Let's break it down: Communication means TALKING WITH each other and not at each other about EVERYTHING. That means talking about your dreams, goals and what you would like to see happen for the marriage, your careers, home ownership, parenting and even retirement. Communication includes talking about money - that does not get excluded. You must be able to discuss what you'd like to see happen even with the finances. What are some of your financial goals - savings, retirement, education - all of the good stuff. You also should be discussing how you would handle a certain situation if there was a lack of money. That's right what is your contigency plan if someone lost a job or had a reduction in hours. What would you do if a friend asked you to borrow some money? The list literally can go on and on. Second crucial factor for a solid marriage is TRUST. Trust goes a long way. That says you know that the person you married is accountable, responsible and if something happened to you they would be able to handle whatever issue arose and you would be proud. They would not embarrass you by the behavior or speech. This means that if the person went out of town even on a business trip, you know that there behavior is not going to change when they are away from you. TRUST is huge. Another element to trust includes money also. You know that they will not do anything with money to harm the marriage and/or family. When trust is broken, it is hard to get back. So don't think so lightly about what trust is and jeopardize your marriage. If trust has been broken in the marriage, it can be gotten back by your ACTIONS and no longer just your words.

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