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Marriage & Divorce
- Save up before your wedding and spend only what you have. The most important part of a wedding is the meaning of the marriage, not how fancy the wedding is.
- Check helpful websites such as theknot.com and indiebride.com for ways to save on your wedding.
- In the event of a divorce, you must protect your financial interests by terminating both the marriage and the joint financial obligations. That includes credit card accounts, mortgages and jointly held loans. Refinance the loans or sell the house or car.
- If joint accounts are not closed, you are legally responsible if your ex-spouse doesn't pay, no matter what the divorce decree says. Your credit can be ruined and you can get knocked out of the credit market.
- Make sure to consider each spouse's retirement accounts and stock options, if there are any.
- Consider divorce mediation, a less adversarial process than using lawyers, in which a mediator tries to get the two parties together to reach a fair agreement. But be sure to have any mediation agreement reviewed by a lawyer.
- If your ex-spouse is months or more behind in child-support payments, consider using a collection agency. Don't pay more than one-third the amount due in collection agency fees.
New marketplace for cheap weddings
Approximately a third of people who get engaged never make it to the altar. Now there’s a new way to help them recoup money they’ve already laid out to book photographers, florists, facilities, and more. The most tense time in a relationship can often be the period from the engagement ...
Are you leaving ammunition for divorce lawyers?
Facing a divorce? The #1 tool divorce lawyers will use against you is something you probably do every day.
Unmarrieds buying homes together
The way we form households is changing. That begs the question, what comes first: Marriage or buying a house? It's a fact of life that many younger people in their 20s will first co-habitat before they're married. A study from the Centers for Disease Control shows that 48% of American ...
Does a glitzy wedding make the marriage?
Sean Parker, the former president of Facebook, is spending $10 million on his wedding to singer/songwriter Alexandra Lenas. The Los Angeles Times reports he's building a fantasy world for the ceremony complete with faux Roman ruins, waterfalls, bridges, and a gated cottage. He's spending $350,000 on a temporary stone dance ...
Money management for couples
Do opposites attract, or do you look for a person who handles money like you in a relationship? Clark and his wife have long called themselves "the MasterCard logo couple." The consumer champ came into the marriage with "cheap" stitched across his forehead. His wife Lane, meanwhile, was the exact ...
10 pointers for a better relationship
With Valentine's Day upon us, The Wall Street Journal has some words of wisdom on matters of the heart. There's a debate among marriage therapists: Are you supposed to put a partner's wishes and needs ahead of yours or not? Well, The Wall Street Journal answered that question pretty clearly ...
Men and women are split over TV size
The battle of the sexes is playing out over the size of the big-screen TV in your home. The Boston Globe reports men and women are having to negotiate about the size of the television screen or screens in their home. As you might expect, men tend to favor bigger ...
Know how to handle money in a relationship
Your credit score has apparently become the new factor in deciding if you are date-worthy or not. The New York Times reports there are now several websites that try to match people up based on credit score. Among them are CreditScoreDating.com and DateMyCreditScore.com. Having given financial advice for decades, I ...
Valentine's Day done the Clark Smart way
Valentine's Day is coming up. Are you ready, guys? Every year I see men who haven't planned ahead and have to make last-minute purchases at the end of the business day on Feb. 14. I just know they're getting fleeced on prices! If you are into romance and saving money, ...
Clark's No-Giftcard Gift Certificate
Clark can't stand gift cards! He'd rather you give cash so your friends and family never have to hassle with expiration dates, fees, limited choices or rules. Next time you give cash for a gift, print out the certificate below and wrap it around your cash gift. Have fun! ...
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