- ·上一篇文章:关于信息安全的四级英语作文(关于信息安全的四级作文)
- ·下一篇文章:英语四级2000年真题(2000年一月四级答案)
大学英语快速阅读四六级新题型版(四六级快速阅读是什么)
Married, With Money
You fight over finances, right? Here’s how to keep the cash—and the passion.
Brian Greenberg is a college financial planner, but on a recent morning he felt more like a marriage counselor. The couple sitting in his office, near Cherry Hill, New Jersey, was seeking advice about applying for financial aid for the man’s son from a previous marriage. “When they walked in,” Greenberg recalls, “I could feel the hostility.”
The income from the wife’s business, which she had started before they married, was modest, but it was just enough to limit the amount of aid the son could receive. The husband wanted her to incorporate to reduce their income, thereby allowing the son to qualify for more aid. She didn’t want to go through the complicated incorporation process, but felt pressured by her husband. “He was saying, ‘I’m entitled to do what I want because I’m making the money that pays the bills,” recalls Greenberg. “That kind of thinking undermines a relationship.”
Much of this type of animosity can be avoided if only couples would talk about money before they get married, says Mary Claire Allvine, a certified financial planner in Chicago and Atlanta and co-author of The 7 Most Important Money Decisions You’ll Ever Make. Without this talk, it’s unlikely that couples have an actual plan for their lives together.
Studies have shown that disagreements over money are the No. 1 cause of friction in a marriage. And for some, they’re the No. 1 reason for divorce.
So why can some couples weather financial ups and downs while others split over a household budget? The key to success is to find the common ground—the shared values about how, as partners, you want to live your lives together. Here are some tips for executing a money plan without losing the passion.
Think big and put it in buckets
After couples have paid their fixed expenses, they often find themselves disagreeing over how to spend what’s left—pay off the credit cards or get that HDTV one of them has been craving.
To avoid such clashes, talk about your dreams. Allvine’s research says couples who don’t get bogged down with day-to-day budgeting details are usually the most successful with their money. “You can’t say to the spender, ‘Okay, you can only spend $50 a month.’It’s like putting people on a diet where they can last for a while but then they just binge and eat a loaf of bread. The spender will say, ‘I’ll cut back.’And then they start cutting out the extra cup of coffee. But it’s rarely the coffee that puts them in debt. It’s the home they can’t afford or the car they shouldn’t be driving.”
Allvine recommends sorting your big dreams—starting a business, owning a home, saving for a vacation—into categories, or buckets. “When you name the bucket, you know what that money is for, and you won’t use it for anything else. That’s how couples get to their goals—they pay themselves first for the big things.”
Everyone needs the prenup talk
As today’s couples marry later, or remarry, they face big challenges combining resources. One spouse may bring children from a previous marriage; another might be caring for elderly parents. The new-think says, rich or not, you may need a prenuptial agreement. “It makes sense to think things through early on,” says Mellody Hobson, president of Ariel Capital Management in Chicago.
But Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, co-author, with her father, Charles Schwab, of It Pays to Talk, has a different take: “Not everyone needs to sign a prenup document—but everyone should have the prenup conversation.”
The point, says Schwab-Pomerantz, is to get an idea of each other’s money personality. “If someone has a lot of debt, that can reflect some personality issues that his or her partner needs to know about. How you deal with money is a reflection of who you are as a person.”
Put your goals on paper
“When a couple can agree on their spending,” says nationally syndicated radio talk-show host Dave Ramsey, “then they have agreed on their fears, and their goals. We don’t really fight about money. We are fighting about priorities, fears and power. A plan on paper brings a level of promise and cooperation and unity.”
Ramsey also recommends scheduling regular money meetings to talk about expenses. “It’s all about being open and on the same page. There are no secret credit cards, no secret debt, no secret student loans. No deception. It’s a matter of understanding what the expenses are. How much do we have to spend on birthdays? What about the groceries and cable bills, the soccer expenses? Life starts to show up in a real way when you talk about it in a meeting and put it on paper.”
Take a hike
How and where you discuss your finances is critical to keeping the peace, says Schwab-Pomerantz. “You want to make sure both parties are in a comfortable, neutral place. It’s also important to know ahead of time what you’re going to talk about.”
Schwab-Pomerantz and her husband hike every weekend in the mountains near their home in the San Francisco Bay area. “We’re away from our kids. We’re not sitting there facing each other, which can become confrontational. We can’t get mad and walk to another room. It’s just the two of us, and we get a lot of conversation in there about our goals and our priorities in life.”
Get it together
Financial independence is empowering, but many counselors say that living separate financial lives endangers a marriage. “Having his and her money is a recipe for disaster,” advises Greenberg. “That says one person is taking care only of herself or himself.”
The joint account sends a powerful message that your marriage matters. The account should be for joint goals: building a reserve fund, saving for college. A shared account, however, shouldn’t cancel out individual accounts.
Managing your money together may not seem like a romantic venture, says Greenberg. “But if there is a good financial foundation, there are a lot fewer issues for conflicts.”
As for the couple seeking financial-aid advice from Greenberg, they left his office, smiling, after he proposed a novel solution. The path to financial happiness is clear: communicate and plan together.
1. This passage mainly talks about .
A) Brian Greenberg’s experience of how of how to have a stable income
B) Brian Greenberg’s experience as a financial counselor
C) Brian Greenberg’s experience as a marriage counselor
D) Brian Greenberg’s experience of how to earn more money for your family
2. Greenberg believes that a couple’s relationship will be undermined if .
A) one of them think they can do anything because he or she pay the bills
B) they do not share an equal family financial burden
C) one of them think he or she entitled to pay the bills
D) they share a common band account
3. The top factor leading to an unhappy marriage is .
A) the fact that partners fight for finance
B) the fact that partners quarrel for their children
C) the fact that marriage partners do not agree on money
D) the fact that marriage partners disagree with each other on their child’s education
4. Some couples can weather financial ups and downs while others split over a household budget because .
A) they have different opinions on how to spend money
B) they have different financial background
C) some of them know the tips on how to stay in harmony with their partners
D) some of them make a money plan while other do not
5. Allvine recommends .
A) make a plan for everything you want to purchase
B) sort your big dreams into categories
C) sort your every dream into categories and discuss with your partner
D. carry out your financial plan immediately
6. Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz .
A) has long been a backer for a pre-marriage agreement
B) is not for pre-marriage conversation
C) like to talk about anything concerning pre-marriage document
D) think not everyone needs to sign a pre-marriage document
7. A written financial plan .
A) is always good for the couple at any time.
B) is a guarantee for the couple in their financial stability
C) guarantees a strong sense of mutual understanding between a couple
D) is not suitable for every couple
8. Choosing a right way and place to discuss finance is critical to .
9. Some counselors point out that might be a severe hurt to a marriage .
10. Greenberg satisfied the just now hostile couple with the solution of .
更多预测题目请参见《大学英语四级考试强化集训——阅读理解》丛书。
相关文章:
第1篇 2015.12英语六级作文(2015六级作文真题) 作者:admin
Directions:Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteashortessayentitled“MyViewonUniversityRanking”Youshouldwriteatleast150words.范文MyViewonUniversityRankingThepastyearshave
第2篇 农历六用英语怎么说(农历翻译成英语) 作者:admin
相传在4000多年前的夏朝,即中国历史上第一个奴隶制王朝就开始有了历法(calendar),后人把当时中国古老的传统历法叫“夏历”。夏历是按月亮的运行周期(rotatingcycle)制定的,故又称作“阴历”。由于夏历中有一年四季节
第3篇 2012年6月英语四级作文范文(2012年6月大学英语四级作文) 作者:admin
Directions:Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteacompositiononthetopicABoominContinuingEducation.Youshouldwriteatlea
第4篇 四级图表作文常用的50个句型有哪些(四级图表作文常用的50个句型是什么) 作者:admin
四六级图表作文题总是让大家不知所措,英语四级频道给大家发50个套句,融会贯通走起!每天过10个,5天时间解决四六级图文写作!GO!GO!!GO!!!1.thetableshowsthechangesinthenumberof……overtheperiodfrom……to……该表格描述了在……年之……年
第5篇 宿舍生活四级英语作文(关于大学生宿舍生活的英语作文) 作者:admin
距离2019年12月大学英语四级考试还剩不到2个月时间,不知各位考生准备好了嘛~四级写作是四级考试中的重头戏,今天四六级为大家分享2019.12月英语四级范文模板:宿舍生活,满满的干货,只要你认真用心的学,就能取得好成绩!12月英语