1 What Are Your Assets and Liabilities?
问题一:你的资产和负债状况如何?
This question is paramount because assets and liabilities are the basic building blocks of the financial life you'll live together. Assets (banks accounts, investments, retirement plans and a house) help you strive for the life you want. The liabilities (a mortgage, credit-card debt, auto loans and leases) will hold you back.
这个问题至关重要,因为资产负债状况是夫妻共同财务生活的基石所在。资产(银行存款、投资理财、退休计划和持有房产等)能让你过上自己想要的幸福生活,负债(住房抵押贷款、信用卡债务、汽车贷款和租车费用等)则把你往相反的方向拉。
Your goal is to pinpoint where you are financially as a couple so that you can map out where you want to go together. That could mean determining how much you want to save each month for retirement, or how much you want to put into an account for a new house, a new car or an annual vacation.
你的目标是要准确了解双方共同的财务状况,这样才能规划出两人今后的奋斗目标,包括决定每月存多少钱用于退休生活,或者存多少钱来买一栋新房子、一辆新汽车或每年出去度一次假。
It also could mean talking about how you each use debt and the amount of debt you each have -- and mapping out a plan to pay off as quickly as possible the combined debt you will have as a family.
这个话题的交流还包括双方如何选择负债,以及负债的具体金额,并拟定一个计划,在尽可能短的时间里偿还双方组建家庭后的共同债务。
The best way to approach this: Present each other with a copy of your net-worth statement, a simple list of all your assets and liabilities. And voice no judgments. Mocking a partner's choices will simply lead to future silence.
讨论的最佳方式是:给对方一份自己的净价值表,简明扼要地列出你的资产和负债项目。记住,不要妄加评判,嘲笑对方的财务选择会直接切断双方未来的交流途径。