Evolving Personal Finance » marriage
The Marriage Penalty and Itemizing Taxes
One of the lovely conversations about money I had over winter break was with my mother-in-law one morning while we were cooking breakfast. I had probably brought up the fiscal cliff or something similar, and the conversation wound up with me blurting out “Do you know how little money we make?” Oops! She was surprised to learn some details about our tax situation, but it makes sense that we have different impressions of the tax code … Read entire article »
How Sharing a Car Has Helped Our Joint Finances
Kyle and I have completely joint finances – no allowances or “blow money” or anything similar – because 1) we agree on most everything anyway, 2) I don’t think we have a high enough income to spend on things we can’t both agree to, and 3) we don’t know how to halt the creep of separate finances that starts with designating any money as “mine” and “yours” instead of “ours.” Not only do we have joint … Read entire article »
Who Paid for Your Wedding?
I have a little “just curious” post today on paying for weddings! Kyle and I dated for a long time without many future intentions but implemented our decision to get married relatively quickly (it about nine months from the decision to move toward engagement to the wedding day). Therefore there really wasn’t much time to consider how the wedding would go down before we were thrust into actually planning it – I can’t even remember what … Read entire article »
Filed under: marriage
Ways to Monetarily Invest in Your Marriage
When I identified my top five values, it wasn’t straightforward to me how I would use money to further my value of marriage. Since Kyle and I don’t have kids yet, I figured every day hanging out at home was like a date, you know? Not really! There are many of non-everyday ways to invest in your marriage that money can make happen. It’s all about putting your money where your values are! Date Night Pretty standard … Read entire article »
Diverted from the Slope
I swear, I wasn’t trying to test my husband. I honestly was reconsidering our TOTALLY JOINT MONEY arrangement for Kyle’s sake. My personality as drifted further toward “saver” since I became financially independent from my parents and I’ve imposed those tendencies on Kyle to a great extent since we got married. Kyle is a saver as well but he enjoyed buying electronics and making some small impulse purchases before we were married and those purchases have slowed … Read entire article »
Filed under: marriage, side income
Judge John Hodgman on Frugality
One of my favorite podcasts currently is Judge John Hodgman (JJHo). The premise of the show is that John Hodgman (of The Daily Show and The Areas of My Expertise) hears “cases” brought by regular Joes and issues judgements. The cases are often silly and relatable, such a wife who wants to get chickens but her husband doesn’t and a man who wants his friend to stop smoking ecigarettes in sports stadiums. It took me … Read entire article »
Easing the Financial Burden on Wedding Attendants
Being asked to be a bridesmaid or groomsman in a friend or family member’s wedding is a major honor, but it can come with a major price tag. Last spring, WeddingChannel.com estimated that the average cost of serving as a bridesmaid is now nearly $1,700. The cost for young adults to be bridesmaids or groomsmen, particularly ones who have been asked to stand in several weddings per year, can be so substantial that it’s reasonable … Read entire article »
What Happens When a Spendthrift Marries a Tightwad?
Which adage is correct: “birds of a feather flock together” or “opposites attract”? Overwhelmingly in marriages we choose partners who are similar to us in a variety of characteristics – except for our money personalities. Many people are unhappy with their typical spending behaviors, and disliking a personal characteristic can be motivation for choosing a spouse with the opposite characteristic. People on extreme ends of the tightwad-spendthrift scale we covered two weeks ago might be … Read entire article »
Filed under: marriage, the literature
Financial Disclosure Before and After Engagement
Kyle and I never had to sit down to have any one big money disclosure talk. We started dating in college so we saw one another go through the transformation from dependent on our parents to being independent adults, with all the minor steps that happened along the way. We talked over our stipend offers for grad school, possible places to rent, how I was dealing with my student loan and car debt, and where … Read entire article »
Filed under: marriage
Found Money Creates Wants
Today’s post is not going in the direction of showing you strategies for battling the “wants” that spring up after finding money. Rather, I am just going to share the experiences and struggles that have emerged for us in the wake of receiving some monetary gifts this summer, particularly in terms of our joint money mindset. Kyle and I received a large gift for our second wedding anniversary in May, and this month we received/are expecting … Read entire article »
Filed under: found money, marriage
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