Product Description

Your Guide to Managing the Real Dollars—and the Real Emotions—of Your Relationship

Too often with money, couples face two choices: fight and risk making the situation worse, or keep quiet and risk making the situation worse. Financially Ever After offers a third option: family financial fluency—the insight, knowledge, and vocabulary every couple needs to communicate effectively about money.

Jeff D. Opdyke, previously The Wall Street Journal's syndicated "Love & Money" columnist, covers any and all financial issues that couples face, including budgeting, deciding on whether to have joint or individual accounts, dividing up family financial chores, confronting debt, making major purchases, as well as handling mortgages, employment, children, and even engagement rings. He offers dozens of real-life scenarios between couples, with scripts and suggestions for how to broach delicate money-related subjects with your significant other, whether he or she has a shaky credit history or is feeling left out of family financial decision-making.

The book also provides helpful tools to organize your financial life, such as a budgeting chart, a "scorecard" to track spending, and an "affordability calculator" to help you figure out how much buying a house will cost you.

A must-read for any couple starting out, Financially Ever After lays the groundwork for building a healthy and thriving financial life together.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #384078 in Books
• Published on: 2009-04-01
• Released on: 2009-03-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780061358180
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Opdyke, Wall Street Journal columnist, offers a sensitive and sensible manual for peaceably handling marital finances. Many newlyweds have difficulty handling the transition from being an independent agent, who can overspend like mad or pinch every penny till it screams, to a partner working to manage joint finances—the communication issues that crop up are myriad. When inevitable issues of power, independence, self-esteem, security and control come into play, the resulting arguments or silent avoidance can lead to terrible financial mistakes. Opdyke gives clear advice on managing both the real dollars and the real emotions of personal finance that course through every relationship, including scripts for questions partners should ask about each other's financial history, and gives cogent, easy-to-follow plans for the division of financial duties, budgets, prenuptial agreements and home-buying, particularly in light of the credit crunch. With its compassionate and pragmatic tone, this book is invaluable for newlyweds with stars still in their eyes—and longtime couples struggling to balance the emotional with the financial and ensure a healthy, thriving life together. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Jeff D. Opdyke has written about personal finance and the investment markets for The Wall Street Journal since 1993. For six years he wrote The Wall Street Journal's nationally syndicated "Love & Money" column. He lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with his wife, Amy, and their two children.

Customer Reviews

warning to newlyweds!
While I think the author gives a great deal of sound advice, I vehemently disagree with him that newly married couples should pool their money, giving up the idea of his and her bank accounts. While in theory this is a good idea, it is naive. Although most newly married couples may *think* they know their spouses and obviously *believe* that they can be trusted financially, i would advise any newly married couple to take a "wait and see" response. IF after a few years, you newly beloved spouse has demonstrated fiscal responsibility, then sure, merge. But for many, merging bank accounts can, yes, contribute to divorce AND further financial ruin when formerly trusted spouse cleans out the account by making purchases which were not discussed not agreed to. I know this sounds terribly negative, but I too thought i had a good sense of my husband's financial habits but boy oh boy was I wrong and It cost me terribly. I say the fiscal trust has to be earned, and DEMONSTRATED, and not only because you've said "I do."

Waste of money and time
What a complete waste of money this book was. It basically assumes you know nothing about your fiance before marrying him/her. It poses "questions" you should ask one another like 'what is your fiance's financial history?' or 'what is your fiance's thoughts about debt?'...if you don't know the answers already to these questions then you should not be entering into marriage in the first place. It also asks 'who should buy the ring?' I don't know what world this guy lives in that a girl would ever contribute to purchase her own engagement ring...that notion is unrealistic and silly. Do not buy this book, you will read ~20pages and put it down bc it insults your intelligence.