i think need na namin pag-usapan tu bilang malapit na kami ikasal. nahihiya ako mag open up about this kasi baka masamain nya or something pero sobrang organized ko lang kasi talaga sa lahat. hai pano ko kaya sisimulan to haha
money is a very big part of life. kailangan pag-usapan.
mga 1.5 years before getting married, after sya mag-propose, nag-start na kaming mag-usap very openly about money.
ako na nagsimula -- as in derecho. sabi ko, honey, we need to set up a fund. we will be a team from now on--lahat ng utang mo, magiging utang ko, and lahat ng assets mo, magiging assets ko (and vice versa).
sabi ko rin, start na tayo mag-accounting kasi we were budgeting for a small wedding and a honeymoon in europe.
hubby has finance background and is frugal, so willing sya agad. nag-aantay lang pala sya na ako mag-open ng topic, kasi natatakot sya na ma-offend ako. hahaha! antayan lang. baka yung fiance mo rin, inaantay ka lang, sis.
we scheduled that weekend na nagpunta sya sa condo ko, with all his passbooks, credit card bills, etc. we spent almost an entire day doing spreadsheets.
we disclosed all our debts. honesty is the best policy. i brought out my credit card statements na may 70k balance, plus may mortgage pa ako sa condo at that time. sya malinis ang credit card statement! he's very simple kasi, as in walang utang. fully paid na rin nya yung condo and car nya. ako talaga ang may money issues pa at that time.
akala ko he'll freak out nung makita nya anong pinagbibili ko dun sa statement, pero hindi naman. he advised me to use some of my savings to pay off my credit card kasi wala daw sense na magbayad ako ng interest. so ayun--right then and there, i paid the card off online.
tapos we added up our savings to find out exactly how much cash we have together. mas malaki di hamak ang ipon nya kesa sa akin. nahiya ako ng slight.
but i was really touched when he started referring to the pooled money as 'our money' kahit parang 10% lang yata ang na-contribute ko.
anyway, we found out na we have enough na for a small wedding and the europe honeymoon. we also agreed to set aside some of 'our money' for an emergency fund. we opened a joint account for that purpose.
tapos we made a plan on how to pay off my mortgage faster. sinunod namin talaga, and okay na, nabayaran na namin a few months after or wedding (thank you god).
the earlier you talk about it, mas magaan ang married life. i suggest you just disclose everything, sis. and dapat sya din. as in magpakitaan kayo ng papeles. walang taguan ng utang. agree on a budget.
ang parents ko away ng away about money dati. ganun din parents nya. we swore we wouldn't be like them, so talagang we run our finances prudently and openly. may budget lahat, walang issue. pag may gusto gawin or bilhin, like upgrade the car or travel, or bili ng LV bag (hahaha), we adjust the budget to accommodate it.
