Kimberla Lawson Roby | Marital Money: Mine, Yours, & Ours!

Life after marriage can be a major blessing but also a great fiasco if you don’t take the time beforehand to discuss some very important details. What kind of details you might ask…well, for example, did you and your new hubby discuss your weekly-without-fail, Saturday afternoon shopping trips to the mall? Or how about that incredible shoe fetish you’ve had for years—the one where you can’t help snatching up at least four to five pairs of brand new kicks every single month? Did you discuss the fact that you have absolutely no intentions whatsoever of depositing "your" hard-earned paycheck into that brand-spanking-new joint checking account—the one the love of your life has so proudly opened for the two of you? Or better yet, did you make it clear from the start that sharing a joint account is the only kind of financial arrangement you’re willing to live with? Does your husband know that for as long as you can remember, you’ve been a huge believer in the idea that “What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is mine, too?!

Now, of course, the above questions are all hypothetically speaking, but they are also hugely symbolic of the kinds of problems that can certainly occur when two people enter holy matrimony, yet haven’t made proper decisions regarding their finances. In my latest novel, THE BEST OF EVERYTHING, Alicia Black Sullivan and her husband Phillip fall in love on first sight, marry six months later and life seems great until Phillip realizes that Alicia has a major shopping addiction. Needless to say, they didn’t see a reason to discuss the subject of money upfront or how it would be spent, so, what I’ve done below is list a few money tips that might have helped Alicia and Phillip and more importantly, tips that might be of interest to you. You may or may not agree with all of them, but here goes!

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