The Path Toward Combining Finances Will Look Different for Every Couple
By Kathy Longo, CFP®, CAP®, CDFA
Wednesday, 26 January 2022
Your money can feel like a very personal matter. Our behaviors and motivations around money are unique to us, encompassing our upbringing, experiences, and current situation in life. This can make merging finances as a couple a complicated process if it’s not approached in a thoughtful and intentional manner. If you and your significant other are considering merging finances as a couple, it’s important to understand that there is no one-size-fits-all approach. How you go about merging finances will depend on the comfort and trust present in the relationship, your relative income levels, the dynamics of your relationship, and more.
Ultimately, you have three options:
- Keeping your finances completely separate
- Keeping your finances partially separate
- Fully combining your finances
Below we’ll discuss the pros and cons of each option, as well as ways to determine which option might be best for you and your spouse or partner.
How to Navigate Financial Dynamics When Merging Two Families into One
By Kathy Longo, CFP®, CAP®, CDFA
Wednesday, 12 January 2022
Preparing financially for marriage can always feel a bit challenging, and that can be an even bigger challenge for blended families, meaning families in which one or both spouses have been married before.
Today, about 40% of new marriages represent a second marriage for at least one spouse, meaning more people than ever before are facing the unique financial dynamics involved with blending two families into one. The money management tips for blended families below can help you navigate the hurdles you may face in your own blended family.
We don’t believe in trying to time the markets, but using an evidence-based approach to make projections can help us understand what to expect in 2022.
Thursday, 06 January 2022
It’s a new year, and we’ve been busy evaluating market dynamics in order to make projections about what might happen next.
The market demonstrated its strength in 2021, with a relative lack of volatility and a few impressive statistics, too.
Wednesday, 22 December 2021
In episodes 21 and 22, we reflected on 2020 and shared expectations for 2021. I’m happy to say we got some predictions right, but I’m not surprised we got a lot wrong, too.
It’s important to take a skeptical approach to how statistics are used in general, but especially when they’re being used to generate media headlines.
Thursday, 02 December 2021
If you watched the news on Thanksgiving this year, you might have found it to be a negative experience. The statistics generating media headlines about inflation painted a bleak picture.
