I don’t know who has the TV One Channel on their Cable TV lineup, but if you don’t you should call your local cable provider and ask for it. There is a TV show on the TV One Channel $ingletary $ays. Financial Advisor Michelle Singletary addresses financial issues in the person’s everyday lives. At first I thought the show that I saw last Sunday was a TV Special, because it was a taped Q&A session. While watching this show I pulled my pen and pad out and jotted down the points that Singletary makes, because these were points that were essential to anyone today. The episode I’m referring to is Your Money and Your Man, being the first episode of the third season of $ingletary $ays. This Q&A offering need-to-know advice on how important your finances are, how you should communicate with your spouse, and what you should look for in a potential husband.
At this Q&A, Singletary addressed some points in her book “Your Money & Your Man” and explained what she felt were factors that could lead to a ‘financially healed family’.
First addressing single women, there is a chapter in the book titled: A Man Is Not A Plan. In this chapter it’s pretty much self explainatory.
‘There are some women who are putting off making financial decisions until Prince Charming comes along’. As any smart, independent woman should know, you should not wait for anyone!!
After college, while in your 20’s, you should begin to get your money straight. Begin to put a lil’ money away everytime you get money, in order to work toward your house/ condo/ co-op, to help build your equity.
When speaking about dating, Singletary advises that woman look out for a few things in a potential man.
Dating with Dollar Sense
Keep a list of the pro’s and con’s when dating one or more guy. This will help you see who has the most potential for pursuing a longterm relationship.
Singletary believes that ‘Dating a boring man has it’s benefits’. What she means by this is kinda simple. When you date a guy that is really busy, meaning he always goes out to the bar or to the club, yada, yada, yada. If you get into a serious relationship with that guy, don’t be surprised if he is constantly going out to the bar, because that is where you met him. With a guy that isn’t too outgoing you may benefit because he would have a more open schedule to spend real quality time with you.
Mr. Fix-It/ Work Ethic. If you are a girly girl, you would look for a guy that is handy with a hammer or wrench. If you call up the guy you’re dating and tell him you have a broken sink, you would hope he won’t tell you to call a plummer, right? A guy who is handy with a tool is a good asset.
While dating, it is NOT a wise idea to lend money or co-sign for a car. Why? Because you are not married. And if things turn sour then you have to attempt to get repayment, make some type of frivolous agreement to keep any payments, or take them to small claims court.
Look for Financial Values. Are you equally ‘yoked’ (that is a biblical term meaning something that represents a bond between to parties, mostly in marriage)? Do you two compliment one another? How do you both feel about money? See if their value of money is similiar to yours. Are they reckless with money or do they budget and save? We all have values in life. What we feel are morals that we can not break, ethics that make our world go round, etc. Do their flaws miss your values?
Look how they handle their family. Are they a push over and get taken advantage of by the drug addict brother? A disfunctional family can be a huge negative for a relationship, but depending on how they handle their family issues it can be over looked, but you have the signs and have been warned. Do they always have dinner at the’r parent’s house every Thursday? These can be indicators that they are loving and that they really take family serious - a quality that you may admire when you are looking to start your own family.
It’s best if you wait to move in with one another, only because if there is a break up it could be a costly one- this is Singletary’s opinion. Nowadays it’s financially economical to move in with eachother after sometime.
A BIG rule everyone should do is LISTEN to the person you’re dating. There is a HUGE difference between hearing someone and listening to someone.
When you get engaged. Both of you should get a print out of your three credit reports and share it. This way you know how much debt your fiance is in.
There are financial advantages to being married.
If married to someone for more than 10 years you are entitled to their social security. Singletary advises married couples to keep an allowance. She is quoted saying ‘people say that marriage is supposed to be 50/50, but it’s not’. If one partner spends a certain amount that should not be open season for the other partner to spend the same amount. Don’t tit for tat. Save the money that you do not spend from your allowance.
You should merge your accounts. This would faciliate conversation about your money.
If you are a Spender. Have your allowance and use that for the $200 pair of shoes that you want.
And finally, 1+1 can = more than 2
Currently, Michelle Singletary has a book out “Your Money & Your Man” while reading the reviews for this book, it seemed to receive an average review. Most people believed that her financial advice in this book was the average advice with nothing new to offer. It would be good for a beginner money saver, but her practices were heavily guided by a conservative way of living.
Honestly, I don’t think there are too many ways any financial expert can word how to say your money. Only because there are but so many ways to save your money!
-f@ke
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