For richer or poorer

Kevin Krauskopf of the St. Joseph News-Press interviews Dan Danford and family financial education specialist Rebecca Travnichek about what couples can do together to avoid financial fallouts. They suggest getting help when you need it, communicating about finances often, setting mutual goals, knowing where your money is going, being honest with one another, setting ground rules, and considering getting separate checking accounts.

Considering the fact that money is a leading cause of divorce, it's crucial that couples work through their finances and stay on the same page.

Read the full article here.

Dad's Divorce: Home Closing Costs

Dan Danford regularly provides commentary for Dad's Divorce.com, a web site for men going through the divorce process. In this week's edition of Money Made Easy, host Dan Danford answers this financial question from a viewer: What closing costs should I anticipate in purchasing a marital home?

Danford, MBA, CRSP of Family Investment Center, explains the confusing process of home-buying and what you can expect to pay at closing.

Debt levels trending down

American Express recently surveyed young couples about their financial lives in their mid-year Spending & Saving Tracker. The Yahoo! Finance business story goes into detail talking about the part of the survey that has to do with how couples manage their money. You can read that story here:

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/110075/keeping-finances-separate-can-be-costly

But there's also a part of the survey that reports on the level of saving that people are doing. Apparently, 75 percent of those responding to the survey say their level of debt didn't increase during the first six months of 2010. In fact, 38 percent say that their debt actually decreased. This is great news - and exactly where we all need to be headed.

You can read the actual press release here:

http://home3.americanexpress.com/corp/pc/2010/axp_tracker2.asp

Dad's Divorce: integrating finances

Most couples don't give enough thought to how to integrate their finances. For someone who has gone through a divorce, this is probably something they think through quite a bit before remarrying - and it's far more complicated than two young folks getting married for the first time. On Dad's Divorce this week, Dan Danford discusses how to integrate two people's finances. You can watch the podcast below.

Separate or together, doesn't matter, just agree

On Mondays in this space we answer a financial question from a reader. Post your questions in the comments and we'll answer them here next Monday.

QUESTION: My fiancé and I are getting married in October. However, we don’t agree on one point: checking accounts. I say we should have one. He says we need separate accounts so we can each have some freedom. What do you think works best?

ANSWER FROM DAN DANFORD: Every couple is different. In my house, we keep separate checkbooks on the same checking account. It's harder to reconcile each month, but it allows a certain freedom that suits us both. Most families have a designated finance person (gender doesn't seem to matter), and that person divvies up the money and pays the monthly bills. Obviously, someone's got to do it and it's not a high-glamour job.

My only concern with this question is that it seems to indicate a bit of financial friction already. Finances are at the root of many troubled marriages, so I'd try to resolve as much as possible before the nuptials. I doubt there is a specific right or wrong on the issue of checkbooks, but it's important to find a solution that fits your relationship. Money equals power, and no one wants to lack power in a relationship. You need to negotiate a solution that meets everyone's needs. For the sake of your marriage, do it before the wedding.