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Top Five Tips for Fiscally fit Marriage

Aired June 06, 2003 - 10:20   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: We'll talk money right here but on a lower level here. This month, thousands of couples will be walking down the aisle in picture-perfect June weddings, right? Ah, but once the honeymoon is over, many of those couples are going to have to take on one of marriage's biggest challenges: the finances.
Well, we have some tips for you this morning that could make things a bit easier for you. And for that, we turn to "SmartMoney" magazine and senior writer Lauren Young. She joins us from New York.

Good to see you again, Lauren. How are you?

LAUREN YOUNG, "SMARTMONEY" MAGAZINE: Hi, Leon.

HARRIS: All right, first off, your first tip this morning is what? Give it to us.

YOUNG: Well, you really want to identify your goals. Inevitably, one of you is going to be a spender and one of you is going to be a saver, right? So, you need to figure out who is the spender, who is the saver, and what are you actually saving money for? Are you saving for retirement? Are you saving for a home? And for the spender, what are you spending money on?

This not a judgment thing; it's just really so that you can start talking about money. And that's really what we're trying to do. We're trying to help people talk about money.

HARRIS: All right, doesn't that mean, then, you have to sort of evaluate what your habits are and track what you spend and where you spend it?

YOUNG: Absolutely. And one of the great ways to do that is to use one of the money management software programs, MS Money or Quicken are two really good programs. They're going to help you figure out, you know, where you're actually spending, saving, how many times a month you go out to eat, for example, or how many CDs you're buying.

HARRIS: Yes.

YOUNG: And I think it's really important, too, because, again, we're just trying to get a dialogue started. Couples don't talk about money. They just don't talk about it. They fight about it. We know that, like, 40 percent of them, in fact, fight about it.

HARRIS: I've got to tell you, and just anecdotally, I mean, that is the fact, because through all my of my friends, my entire circles of friends, my wife's as well, we hear that all of the time. You know what else we hear? We also hear people keeping separate accounts, checking and savings accounts separate from each other. Do you recommend that?

YOUNG: I do. I think it's good actually to have, though, a joint account. You need one joint account to maybe, you know, pay the mortgage, pay the rent, pay for your insurance. A joint account will really help set up a system of checks and balances. However, separate accounts also make sense because they're good for mad money, the spender, for example. I don't want somebody looking over my shoulder when I go out and buy another pair of shoes, right?

So, you know, it's good to have a little mad money in there, and that should be your own account.

HARRIS: All right, now, your fourth tip this morning is to have a regular money meeting. What do you mean by that?

YOUNG: You know, this is really the crucial thing. Couples don't talk about money, as we discussed. And money is one of the leading reasons for divorce. So, you need to sit down and talk about money, and it doesn't have to be a big formal thing. Maybe once a month, maybe once a quarter, get out your brokerage statements, get out your credit card statements, get out, you know, the bank account, and just kind of go over things, see where things are. Are you thinking about maybe adding some more money to your 401(k)?

It's just creating a framework where you can actually talk about money, and that's what we're trying to do. We're trying to get people to talk about money instead of, you know, hide bills in drawers and pretend that they're not there.

HARRIS: All right, then after you talk about it with each other, take it outside and talk to a professional about it (UNINTELLIGIBLE), right?

YOUNG: Yes, I think a personal financial adviser would be a good thing for people who just can't quite get it, you know, together, and you do need professional help at that point.

HARRIS: All right, good deal. Well, thank you for your professional help this morning.

YOUNG: Thank you, Leon.

HARRIS: Lauren Young, "SmartMoney" magazine. Have a good weekend, all right?

YOUNG: You, too.

HARRIS: We'll see you soon.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.







Aired June 6, 2003 - 10:20   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: We'll talk money right here but on a lower level here. This month, thousands of couples will be walking down the aisle in picture-perfect June weddings, right? Ah, but once the honeymoon is over, many of those couples are going to have to take on one of marriage's biggest challenges: the finances.
Well, we have some tips for you this morning that could make things a bit easier for you. And for that, we turn to "SmartMoney" magazine and senior writer Lauren Young. She joins us from New York.

Good to see you again, Lauren. How are you?

LAUREN YOUNG, "SMARTMONEY" MAGAZINE: Hi, Leon.

HARRIS: All right, first off, your first tip this morning is what? Give it to us.

YOUNG: Well, you really want to identify your goals. Inevitably, one of you is going to be a spender and one of you is going to be a saver, right? So, you need to figure out who is the spender, who is the saver, and what are you actually saving money for? Are you saving for retirement? Are you saving for a home? And for the spender, what are you spending money on?

This not a judgment thing; it's just really so that you can start talking about money. And that's really what we're trying to do. We're trying to help people talk about money.

HARRIS: All right, doesn't that mean, then, you have to sort of evaluate what your habits are and track what you spend and where you spend it?

YOUNG: Absolutely. And one of the great ways to do that is to use one of the money management software programs, MS Money or Quicken are two really good programs. They're going to help you figure out, you know, where you're actually spending, saving, how many times a month you go out to eat, for example, or how many CDs you're buying.

HARRIS: Yes.

YOUNG: And I think it's really important, too, because, again, we're just trying to get a dialogue started. Couples don't talk about money. They just don't talk about it. They fight about it. We know that, like, 40 percent of them, in fact, fight about it.

HARRIS: I've got to tell you, and just anecdotally, I mean, that is the fact, because through all my of my friends, my entire circles of friends, my wife's as well, we hear that all of the time. You know what else we hear? We also hear people keeping separate accounts, checking and savings accounts separate from each other. Do you recommend that?

YOUNG: I do. I think it's good actually to have, though, a joint account. You need one joint account to maybe, you know, pay the mortgage, pay the rent, pay for your insurance. A joint account will really help set up a system of checks and balances. However, separate accounts also make sense because they're good for mad money, the spender, for example. I don't want somebody looking over my shoulder when I go out and buy another pair of shoes, right?

So, you know, it's good to have a little mad money in there, and that should be your own account.

HARRIS: All right, now, your fourth tip this morning is to have a regular money meeting. What do you mean by that?

YOUNG: You know, this is really the crucial thing. Couples don't talk about money, as we discussed. And money is one of the leading reasons for divorce. So, you need to sit down and talk about money, and it doesn't have to be a big formal thing. Maybe once a month, maybe once a quarter, get out your brokerage statements, get out your credit card statements, get out, you know, the bank account, and just kind of go over things, see where things are. Are you thinking about maybe adding some more money to your 401(k)?

It's just creating a framework where you can actually talk about money, and that's what we're trying to do. We're trying to get people to talk about money instead of, you know, hide bills in drawers and pretend that they're not there.

HARRIS: All right, then after you talk about it with each other, take it outside and talk to a professional about it (UNINTELLIGIBLE), right?

YOUNG: Yes, I think a personal financial adviser would be a good thing for people who just can't quite get it, you know, together, and you do need professional help at that point.

HARRIS: All right, good deal. Well, thank you for your professional help this morning.

YOUNG: Thank you, Leon.

HARRIS: Lauren Young, "SmartMoney" magazine. Have a good weekend, all right?

YOUNG: You, too.

HARRIS: We'll see you soon.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.