BEFORE YOU SAY I DO: CHECK HIS DEBT

BEFORE YOU SAY I DO: CHECK HIS DEBT

I am so delighted to upload this post, after some weeks of silence.  Yippee! Olabusola's Review is back...

It was a sunny noon and Tracy got a call from Brian her fiance, that he would not be able to give her the money she requested for. Tracy was disturbed about Brian's incessant polite excuses. 

She pondered on how many times, she had asked him for money: the first instance was when she requested his financial assistance to go on a trip to the village to see her mum, the second time was when she intentionally requested for his support to change her wardrobe and now she is asking him for his support to change the two back tyres of her car and he declines. 

His excuse is that he his servicing some loans. This excuse got Tracy so furious that she sent Brian a nasty message. The incessant complaint of having "a slight debt issue" has often times being her sweetheart's unpleasant excuse for not being financially committed.

Hnmmmm! DEBT DEBT DEBT! This debt and mortgage issue brings us to today's discourse.

You need to ask that young man or lady you keep calling your "love" about his debts, dependents, mortgage, family responsibilities as well as credit facilities. This is because once you say, ''I DO'' your debt becomes his debt and his' becomes yours. God forbid you are married to a spendthrift or a spouse who takes pride in credit facilities, then you will have financial liabilities as a constant reason for a headache. “What can be added to the happiness of a man who is in health, out of debt, and has a clear conscience?” Adam Smith

The truth is, there is are perfect individuals or relationships but being prudent is essential to financial success. 

Tips that aids financial freedom in relationships :

Acquainting yourself with the information below will aid your financial freedom to a great extent.

1) Is he/she the breadwinner?
2) Is he /she on a Mortage plan?
3) What investment does he/she have?
4) What are his/her investment plans?
5) Is he /she on a credit facility and what is the interest rate?
6) What is her/his financial involvement in the family at the moment?
7) Does he/her have a standing order of any kind?
8) What is his/her plan to help the less privilege?
9) What is his/her 5 years financial goals?
10) How does he or she expend his salary?
11) How much does she/he earn?
12) Does he/ she have an extra source of income?
13) Does he have a giving culture?
14) How does he /she resolve financial challenges?

These are only a few of the questions needed to be asked directly and indirectly to guide everyone in a relationship, instead of asking some of these questions, you can equally observe him then seek clarification based on your observation. Sex and money are two important pillars that holds a marriage relationship. However, inability to manage Money is one factor, capable of ruining down a home. “The only way you will ever permanently take control of your financial life is to dig deep and fix the root problem.” Suze Orman. In most case the root problem is the spending and saving culture.

When money and debt becomes a reoccurring issue in a home, then trust issues would set in and if not well attended to, it will degenerate into more critical marital issues. You will be amazed that there are some ladies and gentlemen who are not financially matured hence their inefficiencies have cost them their marriages. Financial maturity is equally an essential factor when considering a marriage partner.

In the same vein, some people may not have been committed to the upkeep of their families, house needs or friend's home, where they reside before getting married, hence they find it hard or absurd to keep up with utility bills and other house maintenance bills. The sad truth about financial immaturity is that, some young people enjoy living large and this can be at the expense of their spouse. Some spend more than they earn just to keep up with the Jones and gradually they are ensnared into a lifestyle of debt.  In view of the different categories of people, some people intentionally decide not to disclose how many dependents they are responsible for, in other not to scare the spouse, meanwhile, the dependents are the reasons for their constant credit facilities. 

Soft loans are good but when in a relationship, it is best to discuss with your partner, before acquiring any soft loan or credit facility. Discussing it, will further help you to plan for alternatives and it will also serve as a check and balance system. 

Nancy Levin says "You can only fix a financial problem by fixing yourself".  Self-evaluation will help you to note, that not all expense are important. We mostly buy what we like as against what we need. If all our expense are examined and audited then our debt would reduce.  

You can only enjoy your relationship, when you are off debt. Remember, debt enslaves, so plan your expense per time and work on a saving culture.




I look forward to the next post: how to deal with an extravagant spouse.

I remain, Olabusola Olorunnowo, thank you for your time.