Marriage and Money Myths — and Why the Economy Feels 'Off'

NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast

NerdWallet Personal Finance

Business, Education, Investing, How To

4.2 • 665 Ratings

🗓️ 20 February 2025

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Understand the financial pros and cons of marriage, from taxes to credit scores, and how it impacts your future. Is the economy as bad as people think it is? How does your spouse’s credit and debt affect your finances? Hosts Sean Pyles and Elizabeth Ayoola discuss marriage and money to help you understand the financial implications of tying the knot. But first, NerdWallet Senior News Writer Anna Helhoski interviews Eugene Ludwig, chair of the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity, about why traditional economic data may not accurately reflect the financial struggles of middle- and low-income Americans. They explore how unemployment statistics overlook underemployment, why inflation feels worse for lower-income earners, and how policymakers could improve economic measurement tools. Then, NerdWallet Personal Finance Writer Lauren Schwahn joins Sean and Elizabeth to break down the financial side of marriage. They discuss how taxes work for married couples, whether getting married affects your credit score, and how to protect your finances when one partner has significant debt. They also cover estate planning advantages, health care decision-making, and strategies for managing money as a couple with different financial backgrounds. How to dispute credit report errors to get mistakes or outdated information off your credit history: https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/dispute-credit-report In their conversation, the Nerds discuss: marriage and money, financial benefits of marriage, marriage tax penalties, combining finances, marriage effect on credit score, debt and marriage, should I get married for financial reasons, estate planning for couples, joint bank accounts pros and cons, student loans and marriage, how to protect finances in marriage, marrying someone with bad credit, mortgage and marriage, how to talk about money before marriage, economic perception vs reality, cost of living vs wages, how inflation affects real wages, and CPI accuracy. To send the Nerds your money questions, call or text the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373 or email [email protected]. Like what you hear? Please leave us a review and tell a friend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:30.3	When you think of all the reasons to get married, what comes to mind? Dream weddings, tax breaks,
0:36.8	sometimes love to. Well, this episode, we help a listener
0:40.2	figure out if marriage is worth the effort and cost. Welcome to Nerd Wallet's Smart Money
0:50.9	Podcast, where you send us your money questions and we answer them
0:54.3	with the help of our genius nerds. I'm Sean Piles. And I'm Elizabeth Ayola. This episode,
0:59.7	we're talking about some of the more nuanced financial implications and benefits of marriage.
1:05.0	But first, our weekly Money News Roundup, where we break down the latest in the world of finance
1:09.6	to help you be smarter with your money. Listeners may remember way back last fall when there was a lot of talk about economic
1:16.2	vibes and how they didn't seem to match up with what national statistics were telling us about
1:21.4	the economy. I am a listener and I will say I was also confused by the mismatch between
1:26.2	musing shared in my social networks
1:28.3	and the economic data that we were presented with.
1:30.3	Yeah, lots of economic indicators were indicating that things were going pretty swimmingly,
1:36.3	but polls kept showing that the public did not agree.
1:39.3	Our news colleague, Anna Hilhawski, is here with more.
1:42.3	And Anna, there really has been this huge disconnect
1:44.6	between perception and reality when it comes to the economy. There has, Sean, and that's why an
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