The 6 worst money mistakes couples make

Discussing your personal finances, spending patterns, and financial plan with your partner is crucial.

"Dealing with financial matters is something any couple can do, but you've got to do the job yourselves, or it just won't get done," writes David Bach in his book "Smart Couples Finish Rich."

"If the two of you don't make your finances a priority, they won't be one."

The conversations must happen, and the earlier the better. After all, arguments about money are a leading predictor of divorce.

In his book, Bach points to the following six mistakes to avoid:

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1. Not deciding who is responsible for what.

"Spell out who's responsible for paying which bills," Bach writes. "You shouldn't assume that both you and your partner are somehow automatically on the same page when it comes to the question of how you are going to organize your finances and who is going to be responsible for what. If you haven't already done so, the two of you need to sit down together and specifically work all this out. The alternative is chaos and potentially major strife."

It can be helpful to have a joint account to provide the funds for the household bills, Bach recommends, but it's also important for each partner to have their own money. "Regardless of whether or not you both work, each of you should maintain your own checking and credit card accounts," he writes. "It's not a matter of hiding anything; it's that we all need a certain amount of privacy."

2. Not teaching your kids about money.

Only 17 states in the US require that students at public high schools take a personal finance class before they graduate.

"If you don't start teaching your kids about money, no one else is going to," Bach writes.

The earlier you start teaching the basics, the better. Every kid learns at a different pace, but you can start laying the groundwork as early as five years old.

"You don't have to be a financial professional to be able to teach your kids about money," assures Bach. "You can still talk to them about how you are saving for retirement and why. You can discuss with them how you handle your credit card debt, what sort of investments you are making, and how you make sure your financial practices reflect your values."

Read up on the most important things to teach your kids about money and how to do it effectively.

3. Not taking credit card debt seriously.

"Credit card debt can destroy a marriage," says Bach. "I don't care how much two people may love each other, if one of them is constantly spending the couple into debt, I can promise you that eventually the relationship will fall apart. If both parties are running up debts, it will simply end that much sooner."

If it's your partner who has accumulated mounds of debt, encourage him or her to work on erasing those balances as soon as possible. While you're not technically responsible for debt they acquired prior to your marriage, it becomes a collective hindrance as your finances merge.

Also, don't wait to talk about credit scores until you're about to make a major purchase. You don't want there to be any unpleasant surprises when you and your partner go to a mortgage company to get pre-approved, for example, and you're rejected because one of you has terrible credit.

The earlier you cover the topic, the better. Start by checking your credit score, which you can do as often as you want through free sites like Credit Karma, Credit.com, or Credit Sesame.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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