Sit down. Have a seat. Take a deep breath and exhale: you’re getting married. MARRIED!! Ahhhh!!!

Ok. Now that we’ve got that out of the way I want to ask you something. What is the most valuable gift you hope someone will give you on the day of your wedding? You’re probably thinking an all-expense paid trip to Paris…because obviously. But really, if you’re thinking about it, what is something you know is going to bring you and your spouse value throughout the rest of your lives together? Hard question, right? Because it’s not an appliance, new car, or a magic wand that magically updates your wardrobe every season. Oh no, it’s something more fundamental than that.

It’s something that could PREPARE you for the HARD CONVERSATIONS… for the conversations about money. Here’s the thing, MONEY is the primary factor of stress in adults and half of us are making money decisions with another person. Decisions. About money. With another human being. Thoughtful, communicative money conversations are the missing key to making those decisions.

BUT…
1. The subject of money is still socially taboo
2. Free resources can be confusing and incomplete
3. Personal or professional services may only address part of the challenge.

So what if the perfect wedding gift was actually a roadmap? A resource that could help you and your loved one stop the financial fire before it ever starts? What could you do with a toolset that not only taught you how to make financial decisions as a couple but how to make them in a way that’s constructive and without resentment? Here’s an example: BMW vs. Toyota. Maybe you want the Toyota and they want the BMW (or vice versa) and now there’s conflict. The point of the matter is that you’ve agreed on the hard decision to buy a new car, but now you’ve got to figure out what you each value in a vehicle. After all, we make our spending decisions based on our values, and oftentimes they’re transparent to everyone but ourselves. Fortunately that roadmap exists and it’s written down in the book “The Most Valuable Wedding Gift.”

The premise is simple: pull back the curtain on the taboo topic of money conversations with the goal of creating peace of mind and reducing stress in order to make better decisions. Because who wouldn’t want to make future planning more pleasant and built on mutual understanding? I mean, isn’t that better than the alternative? The book goes over a few key things…

• Social values
• Communication: verbal/nonverbal
• Partnership balance sheet: joint cash flow
• Values and social capital
• Strategic goals: real estate and education
• DWYW: doing what you want (retirement planning)
• Investment vehicles overview
• Choosing the right financial planner
• Financial behavior
• Joint partnership decisions
• Tying it all together (case studies)

At the end of the day we could all use a little help in talking to one another about our financial expectations in our marriage. Is one of you planning on going back to school? Do you each agree on the size of the ideal home you want? Have you been planning on how to pay for retirement? These conversations are UNCOMFORTABLE, but they don’t have to be. In fact, financial conversations can be empowering and constructive to the relationship. In fact, they ought to be. That first step to years of happy, healthy finances starts today. To learn more check out The Most Valuable Gift Kickstarter and give yourself the gift of a head start. You’re getting married; start your honeymoon off on the right financial foot!