Tying the knot is a significant milestone in life, and many people get into it and start regretting it almost immediately. Experts warn that unless couples engage in candid conversations about issues that will define their marriage, they are likely to get into conflict and feel frustrated after they have tied the knot.
Topics That Must Be Discussed Before Marriage
- Finances: How finances will be managed is a big topic in marriage. Couples must know how the bills will be paid, who will take care of what specific area and what happens in case of job loss. They should also discuss how many hours they will each want to cover.
- Family planning: Whether a couple wants to have children or not, and how many they plan to have should be discussed. This prevents future conflicts that could arise from not agreeing on this once a couple has tied the knot.
Relationship with family: In any marriage, family plays an important role. In the case of strained relationships with family, the couple should discuss how they plan to relate.- Expectations: Just like in any relationship that is expected to last, a marriage partner comes with expectations that must be discussed so that when it is time to tie the note, they are both informed on what each of them expects.
- Conflict resolution: As much as it may be hard for couples who are in love to imagine that there will come a time when they will be arguments and issues that will arise. There should be a discussion on how conflict is perceived and whether the couple is open to seeing a therapist.
- Future plans: This should include the long term plans that each partner is thinking of doing. It could be about career progression, education and even your retirement plans.