Marriage is a Contract, Not Just Love
The Evolution of Marriage
If you go back a century or so, you’ll see how different marriage was than it is today. You remember the dowry? A dowry was a cash gift or gift of property a woman brought with her into her marriage – which is code for what she essentially was sold for by her parents. In essence the marriage was a financial exchange and the amount of the dowry told a man how much “value” his new bride had. The definition of marriage changes as time goes by, and there is little that objectively defines the word. Throughout the 20th century, people began marrying for love. It might sound romantic, but side effects included higher divorce rates that only climbed as time went on and now are over 50%. People are getting wise to the potential deceptions of love and once again turning to the idea of a marriage being a business transaction.
Marriage is a Business
It may not sound romantic, but marriage is a business. There are a few things to be aware of these days when it comes to nuptials:
- How does each spouse feel about saving?
- How does each spouse feel about spending?
- Is there to be a joint account, or separate accounts?
- Will there be a house account in addition to separate accounts?
- Should charitable donations be made and if so, how much?
- How much should you put towards retirement?
- How much should be put into college funds?
- How much should be in the emergency fund? When should it be utilized?
These are some of the questions that every couple about to marry must discuss. There must be consistency in the answers, even if they don’t match. Could you live wiht someone who wants to save 12 percent of total income, if you want to save only 10 percent? Probably. If your spouse is accustomed to only saving three percent, there might be a problem.
