Unless you and your spouse-to-be have spent a significant amount of time discussing how you plan to handle finances after the honeymoon, you may be setting yourselves up for a rough go – at least in the beginning and maybe for your entire time together.

Studies have shown that money is a frequent topic of arguments in many marriages. One of the reasons may be that couples don’t spend enough time talking about money before the “big day.”
 
Marriage is a many-splendored thing, but when you begin to peel away the layers, one important thing you find is a business arrangement – that’s just one reason why it’s called a marriage “contract.” And as with any business arrangement, in a marriage you have money flowing in and money flowing out. As long as the inflow exceeds the outflow, the arrangement usually works. But a marriage isn’t a typical business – there’s an emotional aspect to everything, including the couple’s finances.

To help get the discussion started, here are some issues you should address together before you tie the knot.
 
Budgeting: Some say that the key to financial success is to spend what you have after saving, rather than saving what’s left after spending. Once you sit down and estimate your monthly income and expenses as a couple, it then becomes a matter of budgeting to control expenses and setting money aside to help achieve your goals.