Having the “Life” Talk

One thing that you need to do, at some point, with your new mate is sit down and talk about how things are going to go once you ‘tie the knot’. Discuss things like how you’ll handle your finances. Who’s going to pay the bills? Are you going to have separate bank accounts? What about buying a house, is that in the plans? You also need to talk about how holidays are going to go down. Are you going to switch between families every year- do the “double-split” and rush around to both sides in one day? And even though it might not be in your plans right away, you should always talk about having children. Is it for you? If so, when are you thinking? How do you want them to be raised? Is one parent going to be a stay-at-home parent? What about your retirement? Are you going to save together? Thinking and planning for the future early on is the best way to avoid any bumps in the road after you say I Do.

I suggest that you have a plan on how you see things before you sit down and talk. If you need to, tell your guy that you want to have this talk and tell them to start thinking about what they want. Then they’re not blown away by any subjects brought up in the conversation. But don’t forget, marriage is about compromising.