Tag: credit

Thinking about getting a joint credit card with a spouse, family member or friend? Make sure you know exactly what you’re getting into.

With a joint credit card account, two people are equally responsible for the privileges and responsibilities that come with a credit card. That means that they can both make charges to the account, and they are both liable for the credit card balance. The details of the account appear on the credit reports for both owners. If the account becomes late or unpaid, the issuer can pursue both users for delinquency.

Indeed, finance can be as crucial as romance when it comes to maintaining lasting matches, according to an Experian survey on the roles credit and financial issues played in ending the marriages of 500 divorced individuals.

Forty-one percent said their exes put their households into too much debt.

Should You Have Known Better?

* A majority of the divorced respondents (53%) said they were financially incompatible with their exes, and 59% said financial issues contributed to the failure of their marriages.

Many relationships can’t take flight until both parties have a candid discussion about money. More specifically, a conversation that prioritizes potentially troubling credit situations that can capsize a marriage. Here's what to know:

Why Talk About Money and Credit?

Yes, people can have bad credit for a variety of reasons, fair and unfair, but a romantic partner with strong credit health has a right to know if his or her significant other has credit problems. In fact, there’s a strong case that credit health should be a big factor in evaluating a romantic partner.

Love is blind, or so it’s said, but when it comes to long-term relationships, there are some differences you can’t hide from forever. This is especially true when it comes to your financial compatibility. A multitude of studies have suggested that the No. 1 source of stress in many relationships is disagreement over money-related issues. Sometimes these disagreements can even lead to divorce for married couples.

It’s hard to believe that only some 50-odd years ago, a woman’s financial identity was tied explicitly to someone else—her husband, her father or some other male in her life. In the modern age, women make up nearly half of the American workforce. In addition, the average age of marriage is now in the late 20s—and unfortunately, the divorce rate remains high.

In other words, women are in financial control of their destiny. Even if they’re married, most women are still financial earners and maintain their own financial identity. With that in mind, here are critical financial items that every woman should know regardless of their stage of life or marital status.

Most people don’t think of credit when they think of their love life – but maybe they should. A recent report from Experian shows that credit plays a key role in all new marriages as couples work to establish a life together. From securing an auto loan to buying that dream home, credit can ultimately impact a couple’s ability to pursue and achieve their life goals.

So why is credit having such a large impact? The answer could lie in the fact that couples don’t seem to be having the needed financial conversations.

The first major expense for most couples is their wedding. After spending months or years of planning, you might think you can relax a bit before jumping into other major buying decisions. However, most newlyweds realize it’s now time to say, "I do" to other major financial purchases. Check out this list of big buys that come up during marriage, along tips on how to handle them.