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Sam and Veronica met in the fall of 2008, when they were in their early twenties. They dated briefly then parted ways for a while. Sam began his career and lived in a shared house with roommates. Veronica entered graduate school for social work and moved back in with her parents to help her keep costs down while in school. About a year after Sam they first met, they reconnected and started a relationship that led to their getting married in 2011.

When you ask Sam and Veronica about newlywed life, they light up and express how happy they are to be married to each other. But they’re also able to talk honestly about the big challenges that face newly married couples combining finances for the first time in their lives. They say open communication and honesty are the key to a healthy financial relationship.

Sam and Veronica say open communication and honesty are the key to a healthy financial relationship.

Veronica finished graduate school the day before she married Sam. She entered the marriage jobless and, when they returned from their honeymoon, she began an aggressive job search. Veronica says that she worries about her student loan debt — though both she and Sam agree it was a worthwhile expense. Since Veronica is looking for a job, she says it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.

• See also: Student loans

Sam is in a stable job with an employer he likes. He thinks about the future and his room for growth and often wonders about his earning potential. Sam’s father was a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and instilled in Sam basic values about spending and saving. If you ask, both Sam and Veronica will say they have different spending habits — Sam being more conservative — but that they balance each other out. One of Sam’s newlywed goals is to work on a household budget, which Veronica says will help her get a sense of what income they have coming in and what they need to save.

• See also:Budgeting, Saving

While Sam and Veronica are excited for the future, they have a lot on their minds. They want to save up for a house, since they plan to have a family, and they want to start saving for retirement. When you ask them where they thing their financial relationship is going, they say they’re confident that as long as they keep communicating about money openly and honestly, they’re going to do okay.

• See also: Starting a family, Buying a home

Are you getting married?

Here are some steps to take when getting married:

Before the ceremony

• Agree upon and set a wedding budget.
• Talk about your assets and debt.
• Get your credit reports and compare your scores.
• Determine what accounts to combine.
• Plan ahead for tax changes.

After the ceremony

• Decide if you’ll have a name change and update your documents.
• Review your health insurance policies and combine, if it makes sense.
• Join your accounts and add your spouse as a beneficiary on any separate accounts.
• Combine your auto insurance policies.
• Create or update your wills, trusts and powers of attorney.
• Update your property titles, if you have to.

Learn more about these steps in our Getting married section.