Monday, August 10, 2009

Marriage and Aging

Did you know that most young couples getting married don't have an in depth discussion about money and that younger people tend to marry financial opposites?

I did.

And they don't understand each others financial behavior.

I didn't.

Tightwads attract spendthrifts and visa versa.I was the tightwad. He was the spendthrift. I once wrote that "if we did only what I wanted to do we wouldn't have had any fun. If we did only what he wanted to do we'd been in jail."

This time around Dave and I are so alike that it's frightening. But beyond that we've talked through just about everything we can think of - including finances. (I like to think of both of us as frugal but generous.)

And we've tried to plan for just about any eventuality. My Oldies are having some big problems and it's made us even more aware of how important it is make intelligent decisions that affect us and our families while we still have our marbles.

Because if/or when we loose them it's hard for all concerned. My Oldies' (middle aged) kids are stepping up and dealing with serious issues but it's very, very difficult.

I hope my kids would be as patient and understanding with me when I start losing my fantastic physical and intellectual abilities.


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