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Financial Questions to Settle Before You Get Married
婚前搞定钱，婚后更轻松
There are only two kinds of people in this world, spenders and savers, and for better or worse they tend to marry each other.
这个世界上只存在两类人：花钱篓子和存钱罐子。好巧不巧的是，这两类人结合在一起的概率往往很大。
So says longtime financial writer Terry Savage, who has co-written a new book on how to discuss and negotiate key money issues with your spouse-to-be, to give your relationship the best chance for success ('The New Love Deal: Everything You Must Know Before Marrying, Moving In, or Moving On!')
资深财经作家特里·萨维奇(Terry Savage)如是说道。她与人合作撰写了一本新书，讨论如何与准配偶讨论并协商处理一些重要的金钱问题，为双方的结合创造更大的成功机会。（新书名为《爱情新论：在结婚、同居或分手前必须知道的一切！》(The New Love Deal: Everything You Must Know Before Marrying, Moving In, or Moving On!)）
While you probably can't change your mate's basic money personality, you can avoid arguments and hidden resentments by talking honestly about your finances and putting certain plans in place before you head down the aisle. With wedding season around the corner, here's an Investing Basics checklist for people about to tie the knot:
虽然你可能无法改变伴侣对金钱的基本态度，但在步入红毯前，坦诚讨论彼此的财务状况并提前制定一些合理的财务计划，可能帮助你们避免日后的一些争吵和隐怨。在婚庆旺季即将到来之际，本文总结了一份供准新人们参考的投资常识(Investing Basics)清单：
Take inventory
盘点资产
'The most important thing is to talk about your debts and to take an inventory of what assets each of you has, ' says Holly Kylen, a financial adviser with Voya Financial in Lititz, Pa.
宾夕法尼亚州提兹市(Lititz) Voya Financial公司的财务顾问霍利·凯伦(Holly Kylen)表示：“重中之重是讲明各自的债务，对各自名下的各项资产都盘点清楚。”
One way to start the conversation is to swap credit reports, preferably over a nice bottle of wine, says Ms. Savage. If your spouse-to-be is on the hook for student loans or child support, discuss whether and to what extent you're willing to help bear the cost.
萨维奇表示，切入这个话题的一个办法是相互交换信用报告，最好是在有美酒相伴的气氛下。如果另一方需要偿还学生贷款或支付子女抚养费，与之坦诚相告你是否愿意以及在多大程度上愿意与对方分担这些义务。
Credit scores are a source of stress in one in five marriages, but spouses who discuss credit scores before marriage are more likely to agree on how to use credit as a couple, according to a study about to be released by Experian Consumer Services.
Experian Consumer Services即将发布的一项研究报告显示，在各种婚姻危机中，信用记录导致的压力占到了两成。而婚前讨论过信用记录问题的夫妻，更容易就如何使用信用达成共识。
Systematize
制度固化
Next, decide how you're going to handle the money. While it's understandable that some couples, particularly older ones, prefer to keep separate accounts, at least at first, many financial advisers recommend working toward paying all joint expenses out of a joint account.
下一步，需要确定今后如何处理财务问题。有些夫妇尤其是大龄的夫妇，至少在最初的时候更倾向于保持各自独立的资金账户，这种做法当然是可以理解的，但很多财务顾问的建议是，最好是能设一个联名账户，通过它支付应当共同承担的费用。
'Marriage is complicated anyway, ' says Michael Eisenberg, an accountant and financial adviser in Los Angeles. 'This is one easy way to simplify things.'
洛杉矶会计师兼财务顾问迈克尔·艾森伯格(Michael Eisenberg)说：“婚姻毕竟是很复杂的，这么做可以轻松简化一些事情。”
If you each earn an income, consider having your paychecks direct-deposited into separate accounts, then automatically transferring a certain amount--perhaps proportional to your income or to other obligations--into a joint checking account from which you pay your bills online, recommends Ms. Savage.
萨维奇建议，如果双方都有收入，可以依旧将工资打入各自的账户，然后设置自动转账，以收入或其他义务为参考设定一定的比例，固定将一笔钱转到两人的活期联名账户，再通过这个联名账户在线支付家庭费用。
Set common goals
设定共同目标
From there you might set up additional joint accounts for short-term (one to two years) and medium-term (three to five) goals, such as saving to buy a car or a house. This requires doing a little budgeting.
接下来，可以根据一两年的短期目标或三五年的中期目标，另外设立几个联名账户，例如为了买车或买房而进行的储蓄。这需要小小地合计一下。
'Both people need to be flexible, ' Mr. Eisenberg adds. Say you're used to saving $200 a paycheck for a rainy-day fund, but your partner thinks that's overkill. You might agree to instead save $100 plus part of any tax refunds or bonuses that come along. 'The key to this is dialogue, ' he says.
艾森伯格补充道：“双方都需要适当变通。”例如，你习惯从工资中拿出200美元存作应急资金，但你的另一半觉得这笔钱有点多。或许你可以同意减到100美元，外加今后可能获得的退税或奖金的一部分作为备用金。艾森伯格说：“关键在于沟通。”
Save for retirement
存钱养老
'Make sure no one makes a dime without putting something away for retirement, ' says Ms. Kylen. You and your partner don't necessarily have to save identical amounts. 'Equal is not synonymous with fair, ' says Ms. Savage.
凯伦说：“要确保花销不会影响退休计划。”夫妻双方不一定非要按对半的比例存钱。萨维奇指出：“均等不一定意味着公平。”
But you should coordinate how much you're going to save and what savings vehicles you're going to use. If one partner's employer offers a 401(k) matching contribution, it probably makes sense for that person to contribute at least enough to qualify for the employer match.
但双方应当就储蓄金额以及计划使用的储蓄工具进行沟通协调。如果一方的雇主提供401(k)匹配缴费计划，这一方最好能够提存足够多的钱，以达到这个计划的标准。
Manage risk
控制风险
Consider whether you'll need insurance, and if so factor the premiums into your budget. 'If you're buying a home together you need life insurance, ' says Ms. Savage. Disability insurance can't hurt either, says Mr. Eisenberg.
考虑是否需要购买保险，如果答案是肯定的，则需要把保费合计到预算中。萨维奇说：“如果双方要组建家庭，就需要考虑购买寿险。”艾森伯格表示，买份伤残险也没什么坏处。
And don't forget to change the beneficiaries on any existing insurance policies, as well as retirement accounts and so-called pay-on-death accounts, which supersede your will and go directly to the named beneficiaries.
此外，别忘记更新现有保单、退休账户或所谓“生后支取”账户的受益人，因为这些账户安排可以无需遗嘱，在既定条件满足的情况下直接支付给指定受益人。
Gay married couples need to be especially careful when naming their spouse beneficiary of an annuity. Since insurance is state-regulated, 'same-sex couples today should not assume a spousal benefit [known as a 'spousal lifetime income benefit rider'] will work, ' says Ms. Kylen, who recently married her partner of 20 years. 'It would be best to have it in writing or to see same-sex language in your document just to cross your T's.'
同性夫妇在指定配偶作为年金保险受益人时需要特别留意。最近与其相处了20年的同性伴侣完婚的凯伦指出，在美国，保险业的监管职责是由各州承担的，“因此在目前，同性夫妇不能想当然地认为配偶津贴（即‘配偶终生收入给付附加条款’）政策对他们也有效。审慎起见，最好以书面形式写入文件，或者确保有关文件中有对‘同性’进行说明的条款”。
Consider a prenuptial
考虑婚前协议
If neither you nor your partner is equipped to talk about financial matters, enlist the help of a close friend, relative, financial adviser or lawyer, says Mr. Eisenberg.
如果两位准新人都不擅长讨论财务问题，艾森伯格建议可以向某位亲近的朋友、亲戚、财务顾问或律师求助。
