Ask These 7 Questions Before You Merge Finances With Your Partner

Ask These 7 Questions Before You Merge Finances With Your Partner Its not easy to talk about money, but that doesnt mean you shouldntespecially if youre looking to take the next step with your lebensabschnittsgefhrte.Some couples choose to merge finances after moving in together or getting engaged. Before you do so, however, its important to get your money matters out into the open. After all, financial disagreements are the second leading cause of divorce.With that in mind, here are seven questions to ask before you and your lebensgefhrte merge your finances.1. Whats your salary?As a starting point, both you and your partner should disclose salary information to one another. That means your annual salary before taxes, monthly take-home pay, and any bonuses you receive throughout the year. Combining finances means uniting your respective streams of income, and knowing how much you each earn lays the groundwork for budgeting and financial planning.2. What are your assets?In addition t o salary, you and your partner should know each others assets, the accounts and items of financial value owned by an individual. Besides your checkings and savings accounts, that includes stocks, bonds, cars, real estate, and even jewelry and electronics.If youre not married but planning on it someday, you should consider outlining each partners assets in a prenup, Rachel Ryan from Legal Templates advises. It may not sound romantic, but a prenup can act like a financial contract and help couples determine how to treat their finances moving forward. Laying out what each of you owns helps to paint a big picture of your combined wealth and set expectations for spending and saving together.3. Do you have any debt? If so, how much?Theres no avoiding this question, and for good reason. Before you merge finances with your partner, its imperative that you know whether your partner has any debt, and if so, the extent of that debt. From there, you can dive into further details, like whether y oull handle it jointly or separately. Debt is financial baggage no one likes to carrybut the more transparent both sides are about it, the more prepared youll be as a couple to deal with it.5. What are your financial goals?That is, besides retirement, what other goals is your partner actively saving for? This could be buying a home, going on a backpacking tour of Southeast Asia, or having an emergency fund. Regardless, knowing your partners short and long-term goals will further set the stage for financial planning, and can also get you both thinking about your financial goals together.Not being on the same page when it comes to financial goals can be a big issue when sharing finances, personal finance blogger Dustyn Ferguson notes. For example, one partner may prioritize saving for a vacation while one may prefer to invest savings. This can lead to money going to places both partners dont agree with, which is obviously not good. Both partners need know what to expect when it comes to spending and saving before merging.6. Hows your leistungspunkt?Ask about your partners credit score and history. This information matters because many institutions factor it in when deciding whether or not to do business with you. That includes banks, insurance companies, landlords, and cable and internet providers. Some employers may even review credit history before hiring and promoting people.If your partners got a history of late payments or anything else that may cause a low credit score, its worth knowing about beforehand rather than being caught off-guard.7. What are your spending habits?Its possible you dont need to ask about this one if youre already well acquainted with your partners money-handling habits. Of course, it doesnt hurt to double check.Consider the following How often does your partner eat out? What about entertainmentfor instance, going to the movies or out to a bar? Is he or she an impulsive shopper, or someone who prefers to think over every purchase? Als o, dont forget any hobbies that your partner may spend on. Even if you have the same financial goals, differences in your spending lifestyles could cause problems if not addressed ahead of time.According to David Bakke from Money Crashers, Its quite rare when couples merge finances and nothing changes as far as spending habits, planning, organization, and many other aspects. In other words, dont expect combining finances with your significant other to go smoothly merging your accounts requires both effort and compromise. However, while financial woes can strain any relationship, open communication ultimately helps to mitigate these issues.--Joyce is a digital marketer and freelance writer who focuses on writing about personal finance on Twitter.