What's on your marriage checklist? Church, flowers, credit report?

Ebony, Oct, 2008 by Adrienne P. Samuels

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

You just got engaged and you're high on a cloud. The wedding! The reception! The honeymoon!

But before you say "I do" and kiss, have you both gotten your financial houses in order?

Do you know your honey's credit score and have you eyeballed the credit report? Does she have a weakness for buying Dooney & Bourke purses? Does he spend all his cash at the casino? Are you OK with learning that your intended may have $40,000 in credit card debt that you have to help pay off before you buy your dream home?

"If you're going to marry somebody, you've got to have a frank discussion about spending and saving habits," says Gary Harris, executive vice president of Blue Arrow Financial, a Chicago-based financial advisory firm. He suggests that couples seek financial pre-marital counseling from a certified financial adviser or credit counselor. "This may be enough to break the relationship up because they [may have] all these dirty secrets. ,They've got debt they haven't discussed ... You may have a wonderful personality, but you haven't dealt with some financial issues that will haunt you or your wife or husband."

Divorce lawyers say money issues--not sex or infidelity--are the top reasons for the breakup of a marriage. Also, a 2007 Brigham Young University study found that materialistic spouses--whether rich or poor--are about 40 percent more likely to divorce. So, if you want your marriage to last, it's key to assess your and your partner's assets, debts and other liabilities before getting married, says Todd Mark, vice president of education for Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Dallas.

That means knowing how much you each pay for everything, including car notes, student loans, hairdos, child support and even that daily dose of Starbucks coffee.

"Pull each other's credit report and score and know where you are so there's no misunderstandings," Mark advises. "You need to say, 'Let's look at each other not as people but as assets. What do we bring in to this? Do we have one car or two? What is insurance per month or is somebody's insurance through the roof because they're not the best driver in the world? Do you want to live in an apartment for one year and then in two years own property?'"

Experts say that usually one spouse has good credit and the other does not. In that case, let the "good credit" person handle the family's expenses. The "bad credit" person should then observe and work on improving his or her credit.

Other credit tips for the new couple:

* Get a free credit report from the government-authorized www.annualcreditreport.com.

* Try to pay down individual debt before tying the knot.

* Don't lie about what you own and what you owe.

* The household's chief financial officer should be the one who pays bills on time, believes in saving for retirement and knows how much groceries cost per week. (Men, don't trip, but that person is usually the woman.) Whoever is not the chief financial officer can be the chief executive officer.

* Figure out which of you is the saver and which is the spender. This knowledge might prevent future arguments.

* Discuss your financial goals, including retirement savings, paying for vacations and financing your children's needs.

* The partner with the best credit should apply for the home and car loans and insurance to get a lower interest rate. If you both have decent credit, then apply jointly!

* Your credit history is not automatically mixed because you marry. It only combines when you sign for a joint account or make someone an authorized user on one of your credit accounts. Be careful! If your authorized user pays your bill late, it affects your credit score.