How to Combine Bank Accounts After Marriage

With financial problems being the number one cause of divorce, combining your finances is a very important part of coming together as a married couple. There may be a part of you that fears it, but keeping your finances separate will hurt you long term. I honestly don't think you can look at sharing your finances in purely logical terms-what's in your heart has to be in the equation as well. In this article, I will share tips on how to make the transition easier.

1) Before you get married and physically combine the bank accounts, there are some things you can do while you're engaged.

I definitely suggest pre-marriage counseling and attending some financial classes. These will help determine your attitudes about money and make sure you're in agreement over your goals. Neither of you are going to be perfect or expect the other person to be, but it helps to know your strengths as well as areas you need to work on.

Shortly after getting married, my husband and I attended a day-long auditorium-style class taught by the author and financial counselor Dave Ramsey and later took a 13-week course of similar material. There are similar resources everywhere in the country. It's just a matter of admitting to yourself that you need it, and nearly everyone does since finances are rarely taught in school.

2) When you physically began combining the accounts, it's a good idea around the same time to create a budget as a couple.

This does not have to be anything overly-complicated or limiting. You just need to know on a monthly basis where your money is going.

There's also nothing wrong with having "fun money" for each of you to spend for yourselves, but with a budget you know you're not accidentally spending money for the electric bill, etc.

3) There's also the issue with "your debt" and "your spouse's debt" become "our debt."

You have to work together to clean messes up if you want to be a financially stable couple and later family.

If you take this attitude that your spouse should clean up their own mess without any help, the problem likely won't get solved. It's in working together that you can get a lot more accomplished and hold each other accountable.

More Tips:

• All of this is not going to happen overnight, and you're not going to do it perfectly starting out. That's okay though as long as you keep trying. The result after thinking this way for 3 years for us is a stronger marriage and better finances than we had as individuals.
• If you really feel strongly about not combining finances, you may need to explore the underlying reasons why. Money itself is likely not the true problem in those situations.

How to Change Careers Smoothly

I believe that a person should work toward a career that makes them happy, but you need to do it responsibly and never on impulse. There aren't a whole lot of things more miserable than being in a job you dislike and still needing the income, but there are some things you can do to fix the situation. I want to share with you some tips in this article on easing the transition.

1) Analyze why you want to change careers.

For some people, it may be an income situation. Your existing job isn't fitting your financial needs, and you're slipping backwards. For others it's a personality or values issue that's causing a deep inner conflict that grows over time. Then there are situations where the need for change is not pressing, but you just know you can do better in life.

My point is your motivation is going to have a major impact on your approach. You also don't want to move from one mistake right into another one if you have no idea why you want to change.

2) Take a look at your income and expenses.

Sadly, many people in our culture do not have a lot of savings set aside for situations like this, which is something that needs to happen anyway as a buffer if you're laid off from a job you like.

If you have the ability and the time, you need to look at ways of reducing your outgoing expenses on a monthly basis by getting out of debt as much as possible. Sell some stuff you don't use anymore if it will help you create any sort of a financial buffer.

Taking these steps to prepare will help reduce the pressure. The last thing you need is a career distraction and financial distractions at the same time.

3) Consider doing what you want to do part-time and easing into the change.

This has worked great with me personally. It is initially harder because you're coming home after working and then working some more, but a lot of times you're more motivated because you're doing it for yourself and your family.

Many careers can be done on a self-employed basis, especially if you have experience. As you get more and more comfortable, the transition from the old career does not seem to be as hard of a financial struggle.

Keep in mind the time frame may be 6 months or longer, but it's short-term hassle for long-term gain compared to just jumping into something that may or may not immediately take off.

More Tips:

• Taking a few hours to really explore how you want to spend your career can greatly help you. It won't be time wasted by any means.
• Never ignore the situation because you think you don't have time for change. Statistics say the average person spend 70,000+ hours of their life in some form of a career.

How to Prepare for Investing as a Family

Along with daily life, sometimes investing for your family's future can feel like a juggling act. It can easily feel like your focus is divided in many directions-covering your family's living expenses, wanting to save for retirement, wanting to save for a house or pay off the one you have, and saving for children to go to college. If you don't have a plan, the whole process can seem overwhelming. There are a lot of things you can do to get organized however, and I want to discuss them in this article.

1) The first step you need to do before investing is to create a budget for your regular expenses.

This does not have to be a complicated or overly strict process, but you at least need to see what is coming in and going out.

You want to make sure everything seems balanced. In this process, you may spot areas where you're overspending and just didn't realize it. This will also show you how much extra money you have to work with on a monthly basis. Do this for awhile until you have a general pattern on your finances.

2) Pay down your debt before you heavily invest.

If you have consumer debt (non-mortgage debt such as credit card and car payments), you need to realize that it can cancel out the good that investing does for your family.

Not only does paying your debt off cause less money to leave your household in interest payments, but you can also use the extra cash flow (that was all going to payments) to fund your investing as well.

3) Protect having to touch your investments by setting up an emergency fund as a financial buffer.

You don't want to put yourself in a situation where you have to draw out of your investments to pay on a debt or even a major unexpected expense. The penalties for doing this are usually high, both from a tax standpoint and how much money from interest you lose in the process.

This is why you should also have an emergency fund that you can easily access. The amount you need is going to vary by family, but at least a couple of months expenses is a good amount. This would cover most job layoffs, medical bills, or vehicle repairs, which are three common financial situations for families. It may take you a year or more to develop this kind of foundation, but long-term it will make investing an easier process.

4) Begin investing, but do some research first.

Never enter into anything you don't understand. Read some books and talk with several people before making final decisions for your investment plan. Also, don't be afraid to adjust your plan as your family grows and changes.

More Tips:

• Ideally, you want 10-15% of your family income going toward you and your spouse's retirement, which can be in a combination of 401Ks (matching and non-matching by your employer), Roth IRAs (if you qualify), and traditional IRAs. Take the time to research the investments within them to make sure you're getting the best possible return for the least amount of risk.
• College investing such as ESAs (Educational Savings Accounts) and 529 plans can be done as soon as possible, since you want compound interest working your favor while your children are young. You'll need to calculate how much you need, based on college tuition rising roughly 7-8% each year.
• Also based on your budget, you can ramp up extra money for your mortgage as you go along. When you pay your house off, roll the money you were paying into your retirement or additional investing.
• Don't put this process off. The sooner you can start, the better off your family can be financially long-term.

How to Have a Balanced Life While Working at Home

Many people start a home-based business to spend more time with their families. It's a wonderful goal. The ironic thing is you have to be just as careful (if not more so) to not distance yourself from your "home life" while still being in the same physical space. In this article, I will give you tips on how to make the best of the time you have so that you can win in your business and your home life.

1) Set your priorities and keep to them.

You have to learn how to "make time" for both your business and your home life. I think we have an entire aspect of our culture now just dedicated to distractions, and you have to learn to say "no" sometimes. If you just let daily life carry you along, you'll never have time to do anything. You don't have to strictly live by a watch or calendar (that's likely what you were trying to escape in the first place) but you do have to protect time that matters to you and your future.

It is a decision, and you have to make some choices sometimes that are different from what other people do. I personally eliminated a lot of TV time and don't even regret it now. It's much better to earn the right to be the person having fun that sitting on the couch watching other people on TV have fun.

2) Get out of debt.

Financial stress impacts your family and your business. Even if it takes you a few years, it can give you a great financial foundation for your business and your family.

I'm not affiliated with him, but Dave Ramsey's book The Total Money Makeover is the best practical finance book I've ever read, including those expensive college textbooks. Running a debt-free business is also a lot more fun because you don't have to worry about interest payments devouring your profits before you even get off the ground.

3) If they show interest, get your family involved with your business.

My husband and I both work together on one of our businesses, and it doesn't feel like work the way most people think of it. We have a lot of fun and make money at the same time. It really is a good life to enjoy something that makes you an income as well.

When we have children, I'd like to have things that they can do that they can understand on their level. I would've loved to have known as a kid what I know now about business, and if you have kids they will likely benefit from your experience. I can tell you that through all my years of formal schooling I never was taught how to be a business owner. That's sad to me, but the good news is I believe the children of home business owners have an advantage other children do not have. As you're learning, they can learn, too.

4) Lastly, do not think of balancing your business and family life like a set of scales going back and forth.

Life doesn't work well that way. Unlike a lot of job situations, as a business owner you have the opportunity to have both aspects of your life be positive without trading one for the other. You just need to invest yourself in both your family and your business on a daily basis. Take advantage of the freedom a home-business gives you and appreciate the family moments you would've missed if you didn't have it.

More Tips:

• Most of your lifestyle adjusting comes in the first few months of being at home. This is the time when you need the most emotional support and encouragement from friends and family as well, even if they're not directly involved in the business.
• Realize that when you have a passion for something, you'll find a way to make it work. It just takes time and patience. You may feel out of balance a little while until you get comfortable and your business stabilizes.

How to Deal With Negative People

Whether it is in the workplace or in our family, having negative people in your life can make you miserable. There are however things you can do to lessen and even combat the effects. In this article, I will share some tips that I've personally found helpful.

1) First, with individual people you should try to find out the source of the negativity.

Is it a particular situation, for instance you're thinking of doing something moderately risky such as staring a business or changing careers, are they reacting less positively than what you expected? In that case, they may just be concerned about you. You may need to reassure them and listen to their concerns. That doesn't mean you have to agree with everything they're saying, but it will usually stop the negative comments or attitude.

Then there's the situation of people who can't seem to be happy no matter what they do or you do. They simply have a negative attitude. You can't change them--only they can do that. The best thing you can do for yourself is avoid them if possible until you're strong enough to handle them. If it's a situation where you can't, keep reading for more ideas.

2) Look at your environment and determine any negative influences around both you and people around you.

The problem is as people, we can sometimes be influenced whether we like it or not. If you have a negative job, often you can't just turn off the effects when you leave the building and go home. There is carry-over.

To the extent you can, limit your negative influences and increase your positive ones. Look at the situation like you would finances--you want to be more in the positive than in the negative if you want to be successful. Positive influences can come in the form of supportive friends and family, positive books, and to a certain extent positive forms of media such as movies, television, CDs, etc.

3) You also need to look at negative influences in media as well--just because the person isn't physically in your house doesn't mean they don't influence you.

If there are shows that you watch that leave you feeling worse after watching them, that is not entertainment. I've even found some commercials to be emotionally draining. You need to regulate what you put into your brain as much as possible because that's going to either enhance or lessen the effect negative people have on you.

4) Realize that become more resistant to negative people is a process.

You have to practice patience and keeping your own attitude up. Sometimes you'll make a mistake, but that's okay as long as you learn from it.

Becoming a positive person in people's lives has it's advantages as well. You'll find that if you are less negative yourself and catch yourself when you're about to be negative, more people tend to gravitate toward you and want to be your friend. It's because there's a deep need for more people like that in our culture.

I hope these tips have been helpful toward you. Good luck and best wishes to you in life!

How to Prepare for an Impending Layoff

Growing up I watched my dad get laid-off several times, and I seen first-hand the emotional and financial stress it can put on a family. This article will help you be better prepared in case a layoff ever occurs where you work. It is my hope you never need it, but you need to know how.

1) First, you need to realize that there's usually two areas a layoff will hit you--your finances and your emotions.

If it has just happened to you, there needs to be a time where you give yourself some time before making major decisions.

2) There are several things you can do to stabilize your finances in case of a layoff. One is to get out of much debt as possible.

How to do that can be a whole other article in itself, but I personally suggest reading books by financial advisor Dave Ramsey. There are other good authors out there as well, but his books are what helped my family.

By reducing or eliminating your debt, you reduce the amount of money in the form of payments that is leaving your household. In an emergency situation, you can survive on a small amount of money longer without any issues.

3) Another related thing you can do is increase your income through a small, part-time business.

Take inventory of your skills and see if there's something you can do on the side for extra income. The Internet has also opened up a lot of opportunity for normal people to work a day job and then run a business from their home in the evenings.

My philosophy is this: In investing, the conventional advice is "never put all your eggs in one basket." Yet many people are betting their financial futures on only one income source. Even good jobs and good companies have problems, and there's no reason not to have back-up income if you have the means to create it.

If possible, you also need to have a small cushion of money to serve as an emergency fund. Ideally this needs to be 3-6 months of your expenses, but realize this takes time to build. Usually you need to get out of debt first to be able to do this.

4) From an emotional standpoint, it often hurts to get laid-off, especially if you were great at your position and liked it.

People develop friendships on the job as well, and you miss people. Realize that this is not necessarily something you'll immediately bounce-back from, but you also don't need to cling to it either. The best thing you can do is make the best of the situation and try to use it as an opportunity to do something new in your life.

If you're a spouse or other family member of someone who has been laid-off, be supportive of them and encourage them. Men especially tend to take their self-worth from their jobs, and every working person needs someone to be there for them as they go through the process of getting something new.

More Tips:

• Make sure with children to explain on their level what has happened when if you are laid-off. They need to understand and it doesn't help them if you're stressed but try to pretend nothing is wrong around them. They pick up on that.

• You may find that your side-businesses eventually bring in more money than your job--there's nothing wrong with crossing over to being a business owner if you like it better. That's how a lot of business owners start out.

• Don't make the mistake in thinking your job is secure. Most companies do care and don't like laying people off, but it can happen anywhere. It can be an unexpected event for the company as well as you.