bluecollardollar: on your family's personal finances

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I just published my fifth book - this time with Smashwords! ReBuilding Wealth in a Paycheck-to-Paycheck World by Paul Petillo, copyright 2011 This ebook is available across all platforms including iPad and iPhone, Amazon and Sony.

on personal finance

In the world of personal finance, asking what's the worst that could happen is not the same as asking: "will I be able to afford this?" or "have I saved enough for retirement?"
More personal finance

on retirement

If things are good, for some they won't be good enough. If it turns out that things are not so good, someone will ultimately benefit for this off-chance negativity.
More on retirement planning

on mortgages

American dream or not, the games you may have once played with financing your home are not available for the vast majority of homeowners.
More on mortgages and homes

on insurance

Is the insurance industry the next victim of the financial crisis?
Health Channel

on investing

The mutual fund investor has a great many more options available to them in the post-Great Recession marketplace. The question is: are they right for you as you make a retirement plan using 401(k)s or IRAs?
More on investing

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on your family's money management

Personal Finance Approach 1
Some couples enter into a relationship on equal footing. Often it is assumed that the ability to handle money is either something you can do or a talent which you are genetically lacking. In either situation, equal footing can mean equal experiences. If those experiences require educating yourself, perhaps correcting those financial faults, there is no better way to do it than with someone. Here the team concept is best executed.

And even if you are both doing well, combining decent incomes can elevate the opportunities. In the daily budget it can mean jointly avoiding unnecessary spending and/or debt. In the retirement plan it might mean using two plans as one, investing across more diversified investment choices to achieve a pre-set goal. If you enter the relationship on good financial footing, the merging of all financial accounts may provide additional possibilities that were not always present as a single person with good financial skills.

>strong>Personal Finance Approach 2
For some relationships, a designated decision maker works best - at least on the surface. It is thought that one might be better at deciphering which financial decisions are best. But education can level any advantage one person might have over another. And although things may be humming along nicely, there is trouble bubbling beneath the surface.

When one half of the relationship takes a hands-off approach to the personal finances of the relationship, this increases the odds that should something happen, be it a fallout between the two of you to the sudden death of the one in charge, the other is left with decisions they may be ill-equipped to make under those conditions.

Involving yourself, if only for monthly reviews, is the best way to make this method work. Failing to do so may be passing up on reviewing chances and mistakes, making your relationship's CFO speak to the relationship's financial issues, and not giving your input when it might be needed.

Personal Finance Approach 3
Make no mistake about it, everyday people enter into relationships on two entirely different ends of the personal finance world. LOve can turn a blind eye to poor credit, outstanding debt and even other financial foibles. Yet this is overlooked as not as important as your decision about whether this is your soul mate.

As impersonal as it sounds, money is still an issue when tow people get together. Tallies are kept (who can pay for what and why), lifestyles are considered (who spends what when) and the ability to move the household forward (whose credit is holding you back and why) will all play a role in the success of the relationship.

The solution
Have the talk now. You will, and you can mark my words, have it later. Initially you don't have to make any concrete decisions on how to address it - that can wait until the reality has sunk in. And the decision can shift over time as one feels more comfortable with the direction of the household's money management. As I said: have the talk now.

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