Giveaway Alert: I have one signed copy to give away to the best comment below!

Money Without Matrimony: The Unmarried Couple’s Guide to Financial Security

It’s rare when a book can be both a good read AND a good reference but Money Without Matrimony manages to do both. It is divided into chapters corresponding to common financial planning topics such as insurance and taxes and is populated throughout with stories of real people (names changed of course) which bring to life the often mundane planning issues.

This book is dedicated to ‘œall unmarried couples who seek financial security and equality’ and that amounts to 5.5 million households or more than 5% of the total U.S. adult population. As most readers of Queercents know, these couples, same or opposite sex, are not protected by the 1140+ federal laws that apply to married couples. I think it’s safe to say that financial planning is more important for unmarried couples than any other demographic. And yet, as the authors point out

Despite the horror stories, few unmarried couples of any age bother with financial planning. In fact, most of us-married or not-rarely get around to formal planning until we’re overwhelmed by a money crisis or left holding an empty bag after a nasty ending to a relationship.

In order to help at least one unmarried couple, I’m giving away a copy of Money Without Matrimony signed by co-author Sheryl Garret. Tell me in a comment why you are not one of those couples that is going to wait until crisis strikes and how you are ready now to get started down this all important path. It’s not all drudgery. The process of discussing your individual and mutual goals, step one, can be a very intimate, trust building exercise.

Authors Sheryl Garrett, CFP ® and Debra Neiman, CFP ®, MBA had a ton of collective experience to draw upon as they developed this guide. Both have serviced unmarried couple clients and contributed to many financial publications. I had an opportunity to interview Sheryl Garrett for a radio show I host on our local community station and I posted a link to the podcast here.

Image credit: moneywithoutmatrimony.com.