5 Things You Didn't Know About Marriage When You Were Dating

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Article by Jack Diven

Soooo... today I was woke up by some form of deranged animal outside my house this morning at 3 AM. Kayla thinks its a dog, I'm thinking that I have found the long lost lock-nest monster. Only something as prolific as a monster could continue it's piercing, sleep depriving bark for 2 hours straight in the wee hours of the morning. Am I right or what!? 

So here I am, 4:50 AM, doing what I always do when I am awoken prematurely from my slumber before the brink of day... writing a blog to you sleeping jerks! Except my mom... she is more than likely awake on her own terms, she's not a jerk. 

Anyway, at least while my creative juices are flowing, I thought I would share a little foresight into your marriage for you dating folk. For those of you that are married, just sit back, relax, have a few laughs, and remember what you didn't know before you were married. Hey ho here goes!

You didn't know that...

1. You were Selfish.

 I have found that when I was single, I did what was natural, I thought only about myself. When you get married you are to put the needs of your spouse in front of your own and that is no small feat. Think about it, you are trying to reverse a lifelong habit of selfish tendencies. 

2. If You Didn't Like Coffee, You Do Now

I hated coffee before I got married. I would hardly even taste it. Then, next thing you know, I'm sucking down coffee like a kid with some Koolaid on a hot summer day. Morning responsibility comes ailing when you get married, on most occasions, even the morningest of morning persons like myself need a pick-me-up in the morning. Since being married, I have become something of a barista!

3. It Would Be Hard

There is no way that I could have known how hard marriage could be... in fact, I am quite sure that I still have no idea how hard it can be. I can also say that it is one of the very best things that have ever happened to me. I wouldn't change it for the world. If you aren't married, don't be scarred of marriage, don't be scared of commitment. If you are thinking of marriage you had better have your ducks in a row. I believe that God will grow you in ways that you can't even imagine. 

4. You Would Like Law & Order

Before I was married and I lived with my parents, they would watch Law & Order all the time. Of course I'm thinking to myself, that's for old people. Well... now I'm thinking it's just for married people! In fact, I am watching it as I write this... unashamed! #GoBenson #Mariska #That'srightdad...Mariska

5. Money Doesn't Grow On Trees

Now I am quite sure that you dating folk have at least heard this phrase before, more than likely from your parents. When you get married, you learn quick how tough it can be to make your own money and provide for your own family. Remember what you will be giving up when you get married... you'll hopefully be giving up on the money tree that is your parents. At least you should be, your parents aren't doing you any favors if your married and they are still paying for your lifestyle. It's a healthy thing to learn how to earn your own living and provide for your own family. 

6. How To Cook

Thank God that my wife knows how... That's all I'm saying about my cooking skills. Although, I have learned how to grill a mean steak. I think that runs in the family. 

7. You Would Want A Truck So So Bad

Ok admittedly, this one is personal to me, however, I think some of my guys may back me up on this. I WANT A TRUCK! When you get married the temptation will be to get a nice, safe, reliable car with great gas milage. My wife and brain say yes but my heart cries insurmountable tears at the thought of it and just wants to get the first clunker pickup on the side of the road that I see. Anybody with me? Nothing makes you feel like more of a man then hopping in your good ole boy, Merican made pickup, rolling down your manuel windows, and jamming out to some country music while your fingers feel the summer breeze created by your man machine. 

8. You Would Love As Much As You Do.

I love my wife so much. So much more than I ever could have imagined before I was married, and even so much more than on my wedding day. That love is a choice. We have to choose to love our spouses more and more everyday. I think it will be surprising to you how much your ability to love someone will grow when you find the right person. 

Peace out friends. Blessings.

-JD

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5 Things For A 'Legen... wait for it... dary' Honeymoon!

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Article by Jack Diven

I just want to say... Opening Day for Major League Baseball is in exactly 52 days, 5 hours and 45 minutes away from the time I am writing this post! I absolutely LOVE baseball, but what does that have to do with a honeymoon you ask???

Well it just so happens that the greatest night of my entire life was on my honeymoon! I spent that night at a legen...wait for it...dary Yankee game, at least legendary to me. I will never forget walking into that immaculate baseball cathedral with tears in my eyes and awe on my lips. My new wife had gotten me an incredible surprise to go to New York and to Yankee stadium as our wedding present. As you can see, my wife gave me an incredible honeymoon for more than just one reason ;) ... there's more to the story for the greatest night of my life, but I'll spare you the details. 

The point is that are a TON  of factors that can make or break your honeymoon experience, and since we plan for only one honeymoon, The NewlyWed News wants to make sure that you hit it out of the park! Oh yeah... I said it! 

1. Don't Settle

When Kayla and I were deciding where we wanted to go on our honeymoon, we went back and forth so many times on the places that we wanted to go and eventually landed on the idea of a cruise. There was only one problem with that, we didn't really want to go on a cruise. It took a bop on the head from my Dad, telling me what I am about to tell you. "It's your only honeymoon... pick out a place that you really want to go, and figure out a way to make it happen." This is your only honeymoon! While it is exponentially important that you have a good grip on your finances when you get married, it's also very important that you have a great time on your honeymoon. When my dad bestowed this incredible wisdom upon us we realized that we were about to make a big mistake, so we decided not to sell ourselves short and went to Canada to see Niagara Falls and to New York City to see the Yankees play. It was one of the greatest decisions we ever made. Our honeymoon was like a dream.

Disclaimer: Kayla and I do not recommend going into debt to fund the honeymoon of your dreams.

Kayla and I also thought about going to Chile to go skiing, this trip would have cost almost $8000. The last thing you need as a newly wed couple coming home from your honeymoon is a new credit card payment with thousands of dollars accruing interest at what is really like a 20% rate. Talk about a smack back into reality. 

Kayla and I recommend that you figure out where really want to go, have a good plan about how to get there, hustle and pay cash upfront for your big vacation. That may seem crazy but trust me it is possible. Kayla and I did need to use a Jet Blue credit card to book everything, but we had the money to pay it back almost immediately. 

2. Have Money

So this sounds kinda obvious... I mean, who goes on a honeymoon without money. Here's where I am going with this, possibly even more important than where we went (which we went to awesome places), was the fact that we had that money to do anything that we wanted to do. We lived like earthly kings and queens for a week and we think you should too! All the things that Kayla and I never really got to experience as kids due to financial limitations, we made up for on our honeymoon. We spared no expense! We got room service, we went to 5 star restaurants, and sat behind the dugout at the Yankee game and ate whatever we wanted. Don't spend all your money on the place you want to go, remember you gotta live it up while you are there. 

3. Throw a Lingerie Party

That's right guys, lean in for this one. Can you possibly imagine anything greater than people just giving your wife super expensive clothing to make THE big night just right! I can't! And ladies... you like clothes don't you? In all seriousness these parties are a great way to have fun with your friends and make sure that your honeymoon is a heck of a lot of fun. I will go no further...

4. Have a Married Friend Put Together a "Fun" Bag For You

Again, I will elect not to elaborate too terribly much on this... what you do need to know is that there are some things that you may not know about your first night as husband and wife. We were lucky enough to have a friend help us out and make sure that we were totally taken care of for the night we had been waiting for. Talk to some good married folk, and ask em to help you out. 

5. Be Cleaned Up & Moved In

When Kayla and I went on our honeymoon we had most of my stuff moved in to the home we live in, but... our house was a wreck! I can remember driving home and dreading the fact that we were going to get smacked back into the reality of life by walking into a home that was messy due to the stress and time that it takes to plan a wedding. Thankfully, we have the absolute best friends in the world who cleaned our home from top to bottom while we were on our honeymoon, and we came back to a spotless house. It was a huge relief! Make sure that you won't be walking straight from easy street to a messy home that looks like a tornado just swept through. It was such an cool moment when we got to our house for the very first time. I can remember thinking... "We did it, we are finally married, we are finally on our own."

Have fun guys! 

Blessings,

-JD

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8 Ways to Fight Well With Your Significant Other

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Article by Jack Diven

Here is something that we likely realize but probably never think about... fighting is a part of relationships. 

Now, I've already lost some of you. As I dive into the mind of my teenage self, I think, my girlfriend and I are so in love, we never fight. 

Pause... a few chuckles later...

I have also had married couples tell me that they never fight with their spouse. Even if that is true in the sense that you and your husband don't yell at each other, I petition that each relationship not only has their moments when they fight, but they are always fighting for something, whether it be for the marriage itself or fighting simply to become a better relationship.

One way or another, wether it's just one time, a dozen times, or starts with good intention, every relationship fights at some point. 

So if you're like me and you and the love of your life, have a tussle from time to time. There must be a right way to go about it. So step into the ring with me, and let's talk about 8 ways of how to fight well with your significant other.

Apollo Creed interjects: "Ding... Ding" (please tell me someone gets it)



1. Listen

It is not uncommon to hear throughout your life that the key to a good relationship is listening. Now I won't be so bold to say that it is the key, because I think there are many, but it is certainly imperative to winning a fight. One of my best friends, Liana Clanton, has many great qualities and it just so happens that one of those qualities is that she is a great listener. She will sit and listen to you speak, even if it hurts, and not interrupt you one time. 
Why is this a great quality? It insures that the person that is speaking has spoken everything that they believe needs to be said and allows you to say what you need to say with full disclosure of the entire issue as your spouse can articulate it. A mouth full I know. If you are quick to listen and slow to speak you have a good chance of diffusing some possible anger and quickly getting to the root of the problem.

2. Speak Calmly

If you are like me, you don't like to be yelled at. While I will admit that I do believe there are times that yelling in general may need to happen, I find that in almost every situation, I respond better to someone communicating their point to me calmly. I personally feel completely disrespected if someone yells at me without good warrant to do so and typically respect the person yelling at me less. This certainly doesn't do well for your point in an argument or for effective change, which should be the catalyst for a fight in the first place.

3. Talk About the Real Issue

Many times when a fight happens between you and your spouse, there is a good chance that the fight that started is not the only issue or the deepest issue that is going on. I can remember one time Kayla and I got into an argument about a Bible verse that we were reading! Crazy right!? In the end, we really didn't care that much about our difference in thought about that particular verse, the argument really was about a deeper issue that was hidden before we entered into conflict. So, with that being said, it is important to identify what the argument is really about so that you can get to the root of the issue and create a real solution to the problem. 

4. Be Aware of Your Own Deep Issues.

In case you haven't figured it out yet upon reading this blog, I am going to give you a revelation right now... 
You are absolutely, positively not even close to perfect! NEWS FLASH FROM THE NEWLY WEDS: You have issues, and so do I. 
It is important to realize that you have certain issues that are deep within yourself that may be a big factor in an argument with your spouse. A personal example would be this: "I am ultra competitive." So how does that translate into a fight with your spouse? My competitive nature causes me to want to be right in a argument. Now I don't necessarily see a problem with wanting to be right, I think it's safe to say that all of us would rather be right than wrong, but the problem is when our competitive nature takes over in such a way that we would rather win an argument by being right than to have a constructive argument that allows us to grow as individuals and as couples and move toward something to where we both people win. We win when we strive and work hard through conflict and come out better on the other side. Now being right to a fault might not be your deep issue, but I assure you that you have one and it may greatly affect your ability to have a successful conflict and come out on the other side with a win or a "W" as us baseball players refer to it. 

5. Don't Be Afraid of Conflict

Have you ever heard this phrase: "Don't let the fear of striking out, keep you from playing the game." Some of you savvy and sappy entertainment folk are thinking to yourself, how does he know that quote from A Cinderella Story? I will not disclose any further information on how I know that quote! The real point is that you can't get better if you are afraid of the outcome of an argument. Believe it or not, there are a ton of invaluable skills that you can learn from trying to resolve a conflict. Things like, communication, self-control, and of course... problem solving! All of those skills are imperative in a healthy relationship and I have found that NOT shying away from these things has allowed me to grow exponentially in other facets of my life such as leading a team or simply being a good friend. If you never try to work an argument out and just hold it inside, you will miss out on the chance to obtain some of these skills. Not only that, but it's really hard for your relationship to get better or grow without going through some growing pains. You will make mistakes along the way but conflict is a natural part of relationships that everyone must go through. Don't ignore conflict, embrace it, and use it to grow your yourself and your relationships. 

6. Go All 15 Rounds

The more manly movie side of me would use a quote like this, "It's not about how hard you can hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward... that's how winning is done."

When I think of working through conflict I can't even help but think about Rocky Balboa and his determination to go all 15 rounds in a boxing match. Rocky gets the ever living snot beat out of him throughout the fight, but every time he goes a whole 15 rounds, he finds the way to get a win. As crazy as that may sound, that's exactly how we have to fight for our relationships. If I am being honest, there are times where I will get in an argument with Kayla and at the beginning I catch myself thinking, "man this is gonna take at least an hour and a half to get through this." (I know... what a jerk) but it is extremely important that we as couples finish the arguments that we get into. Nobody wins if both sides just surrender and decide that it's just easier to give up than to get beat up for 15 rounds and face the possibility of losing. Don't leave, don't go to bed, or give up just because it is easier. When you get into a fight, don't throw in the towel, keep the gloves up for a whole 15 rounds, don't take a loss. Be determined to get a win no matter how hard it is, or how long it takes. Remember a win is when both you and your spouse grow, get better, and strengthen the relationship. Don't settle for anything less. You're talking about a valuable investment of your time and your life if you are serious about the relationship that you are in.

7. Keep the Bigger Perspective in Mind

When you are fighting with your spouse, it is incredibly easy to have the overall purpose get really cloudy and blurry. This goes hand in hand with trying to be right rather than trying to get a real win. But something else I will mention is that for many of us, especially those of us that are married, know exactly the thing to say that will hurt our spouse the most. When we are rolling with the verbal punches in our fights, it is so easy to throw an underserved haymaker or knock out punch. Don't lose track of the overall goal of an argument. Keep a calm, level head and try to figure out the best way to achieve the end goal, a win. Don't forget, if you're fighting with your spouse,  you love this person more than anyone in the world (or at least you should). If you are fighting with your b/f or g/f then you at least like them a TON to invest enough time to actually resolve a conflict with them. If you aren't willing to work through a conflict with someone you are not yet married to, then break up with him/her because if it's not worth it now, it won't be worth it later either. 

8. Say You're Sorry

You've done it! You've made it all 15 rounds, you got hurt, bruised, and rolled with the verbal punches of the fight, but you still have one more test, and it is by far the toughest. I have found that if you go the distance in a fight, by the end it is extremely likely that you and your significant other have something to apologize for.

Tweet: "An apology offered with forgiveness is the key ingredient to winning a fight." 

I am convinced that you can never truly win a fight unless there is an apology in the 15th round. Think about how hard it would be to "have it out" with your spouse for an hour and a half and not once say something that is untrue, too far, with selfish motives, or just plain ridiculous. I have found that it is almost impossible for both parties to do. So when you fight with your significant other, it's best if you go ahead and plan on apologizing because more than likely, by the end, your significant other will deserve one, and so will you. And so a I present to you... The NewlyWed News proper factor for a winning fight! Observe!

(1 person that loves the other + 1 person that loves the other) x 15  round determination = a team

 ("a team") x  (the ability to keep a bigger perspective) + 1 or more apologies = A Winning Team.


Go for the win.

-JD

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5 Super Manly Super Bowl Recipes That Drive Wives Crazy!

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Article by Jack Diven

IT'S SUPER BOWL SUNDAY! Seriously people, Super Bowl Sunday mine as well be a national holiday as far as I am concerned. I mean think about it, one day a year tens of millions of people lean in to watch a bunch of sweaty men run around and pulverize each other all while 100,000 fans erupt with anticipation at the slinging of a hunk of oblong pigskin. Furthermore, there is a select eccentric bunch of fans that think that the best way to celebrate the holiday is to go to the game shirtless, painted, and wear a bird hat. 

The point is that this is a big day. And for NewlyWeds like us, it is an occasion for our first married party in our lovely home! So for those of you that are married, you have more than likely had a Super Bowl party, or at the very least thought about having one. And so, I have done you you men out there a great service by sharing 5 masculine Super Bowl party recipes. And at this very moment, some of you men are thinking... dude, bro... recipes are not manly... WELL THINK AGAIN MY SUPER BOWL LOVING BROS!!! With these manly meals, you can do all the "cooking"!

1. The Hot Dog

Guys, you have the wonderful opportunity to take a cheap and quite frankly (pun intended) underrated dog of deliciousness and give the hot dog it's day! Throw those suckers on the grill, dress them up with all the condiments that you can imagine and turn them into a gourmet meal!

2. The Hot Wing

Simply buy them...  Should they get cold, nuke em. If you wanna get real fancy with your chef work on the masterpiece of a recipe such as the store bought Hot Wing, serve them with a variety of trimmings such as the exquisite ranch dressing or benign blu cheese. 

3. The Cheese and Cracker Platter

This recipe requires a massive level skill and is only for those of us that are experienced at throwing Super Bowl parties. Kids... don't try this at home. The easy part is simply buying this item from the store, but, where must of us men go wrong is that we get the platter out when people start showing up at the party. The art form that comes from serving this recipe comes from putting the platter out before the party starts and munching on enough of it to satisfy your stomach with this delightful duo, all while not eating so much that your wife yells at you for consuming all the party food. Gentlemen this is no easy task. I recommend having a few parties under your belt before setting out on such a massive undertaking.

4. The Chip and Dip 

Guys, buy some chips... then buy some dips, and serve it on some paper plates. Your wife will try desperately to serve this classic recipe on a "classy looking tray"... don't do it... please just don't do it. NOT MANLY! Play your cards right with good packaging, a little charismatic communicating, and  you can convince people that the salsa your serving is some kind home made contraption. Remember, when they ask how you made it, tell them it's a family secret passed down from generations to minimize any skepticism from your bros. 

5. The Pizza

Call your favorite local pizza shop and go all out for this special occasion. Does your wife normally limit you to getting a simple 2 topping pepperoni and mushroom pie? There may be a day when our toppings are limited on Super Bowl Sunday but it is not this day. There may be a day when the awesomeness of men fails, and we limit the consumption of this Italian delicacy, but it is not this day... THIS DAY, WE EAT AND ORDER WHATEVER OUR MANLY HEARTS DESIRE!!! 

If you are a dude and you find yourself thinking, what the heck is all this "not this day" stuff that he is talking about... you had better just go out and buy cook book or get your recipes off of Pinterest for your Super Bowl parties, at least until you go and watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy on bluray extended addition. 

Go my brothers! Let the Super Bowl fun commence! 

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5 Things To Do While You're Single

There will ALWAYS be a “What’s next?” When you’re single, you wonder when Mr. Right will come along. When Mr. Right comes, you wonder when he’s going to propose. After he proposes, you pray that the wedding day will hurry and relieve you from the 7^th circle of hell also known as engagement. After marriage, you begin to wonder when you’ll have children. After the first child, you may wonder how long is too long until the second child. After the second child…well you get it by now. Life comes in stages. It always has and it always will. But if we stay caught up in “What’s next,” we miss the amazingness that is right now!

This blog post is dedicated to those in the life stage known as single.

I want you to know that there is nothing in this world that would make me want to change being married to the love of my life. But there are some things I miss from the single stage that I want to share with you. I want you to realize that this is a unique time, and when you move on to the next stage, no matter how wonderful it is, there will be things you miss; things you wish you had done; time you wish you wouldn’t have taken for granted; and if you’re like me, shoes you wish you would have bought.

So here are 5 things to do while you’re in the life stage ‘single’ from someone in the life stage ‘newlywed.’

1.     Find yourself.

This may sound so cliché, but I promise it is something you need to do. You need to explore, discover yourself, find out who you truly are, who you want to be, and be happy with that. Because until you know who you are, you will allow yourself to settle with any relationship—friend or significant other. When you know who you are, you can find people who will come along side of you and join you on your journey. If you do not know yourself, you may find yourself on someone else’s journey. It won’t happen overnight, but one day you’ll wake up and wonder who you are. Sometimes this is how people have found themselves, so if you’ve already traveled that road, do not feel shame. Use your experiences to grow wiser. Some of the best times discovering myself were after I had completely lost myself. Live and learn.

2.  Dream.

Again, cliché…I know. But if you begin dreaming when you are in your current life stage, there are a couple of things you may realize:

  -You may realize that you need someone else’s help to fulfill this dream. When this happens, and someone, friend or significant other, comes along with the same dreams and passion, it can be an amazing thing to watch that dream bring you closer together. Accomplishing goals and dreams together with someone else is extremely fulfilling!

  -Or you may realize that you have a dream that has to be accomplished while you’re in your current life stage. If you don’t spend time dreaming, you may wake up one day and realize that you wanted to travel Europe for three months and kiss someone random under the Eiffel Tower in Paris—that’s probably not the best idea if you’re married with 3 kids…

Dream now! Accomplish all that you can while you are single. Dreaming could even help you out with number 1.

3.  Find a solid group of friends that support you.

No, I do not mean friends that you like because they will tell you what you want to hear. No, I do not mean friends that you like because they’ll go out dancing with you (although if you have friends that do that, you can keep them for their awesomeness).

You need a core group of friends that know you…sometimes better than you know yourself. You need friends that will tell you what you need to hear, and you need friends that will be your friend no matter what life stage you are in. The friends you have can be most needed when you are moving from one life stage to another—especially if the stage you are moving into feels like a step backwards.

4. Spend money.

You are probably thinking, “Finally, something fun!” And while I do think that you need to be responsible with your money and have a budget, I think your budget should definitely include money for Girls’ Nights and lots of shoes. You may think that when you get married that you’ll have two incomes so more money. Most of the time this is not the case. With marriage comes more bills, more responsibilities, and only sensible shoes for work. So if you are in the lovely life stage of “single” take yourself on a shopping date to the mall, find a pair of shoes that make your legs look killer, and buy those babies (then send me a picture so that I can live vicariously through you!).

5. Be lazy.

You know how you wake up on Saturday with nothing to do sometimes—enjoy the mess out of it. Revel in it. Heck if empty Saturdays were a person I would tell you to make out with him! I know there will be days when you wish you had something you could do with your friends, and there will be nights that you wish you had a simple dinner and movie date. It’s okay to want those things. But someday what you’ll want more is pajamas, Netfilx, microwave popcorn, and nobody else around. So go get your RedBox movie, subscribe to Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime Instant Video, and anything else you can think of and be lazy. Let the clothes sit in the hamper a day longer. Let the dishes stay in the sink. Let the floor go unvacuumed. Eat chips for dinner so you don’t have to cook, and enjoy it.

Live in the now...soak it up!

xoxo Kayla

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3 Must Have Financial Tools For Your Marriage

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Article by Jack Diven

I have learned a lot of things since being married. Something you should know is that marriage throws you into the water on so many different situations that you begin to gain a certain wisdom and understanding that you never had before. 

I want to spare you most of the details as much of it is really confusing, (if your dying to know everything by the end of this, click on the Facebook link at the bottom and shoot us a message) but the preface you need to know is that our cooperate bank charged us almost four hundred dollars in overdraft fees while we had money in our account. Some of you reading this are thinking WHAT... there is no way that is true. That is for sure what I would be thinking since most people that are blaming the bank for their overdraft fees have no clue what they are talking about, but I assure you, it is the truth. 

I would even be so bold to say that this bank more than likely makes sure that it accumulates a guaranteed amount of overdraft fees from it's customers and counts it as annual revenue for their company. 

I have learned a lesson in the last couple days.  The lesson is simply this,

"Some people, some companies, don't really care about you, they care about your money"

If I am being perfectly honest, I got a sour taste in my mouth as I was typing that quote. Something that you should know about me is that I consider myself to be a conservative However, I feel it is my duty to help any newlywed or anyone for that matter that will lend an ear. The fact of the matter is that there are some companies in this world that are not for you and you have to be very careful with your money to make sure that no one is able advantage of you. 

With that being said, I have used some great tools since being married that have really helped us with our finances. Take a look.

1. A Good Accountant

Ok so some of you are like... that's a person, not a tool... and you would be right! But let me explain, I have found that when you get married you all the sudden become responsible for all these things that you parents used to take care of. Things such as FASFA forms, financial provision, and you guessed it... TAXES!!! If I am honest, I may or may not have known what a tax refund was until the year that I got married. There are so many things to take into consideration when it comes to your taxes. Did you know you can get tax breaks simply for getting married? Not to mention, you more than likely got a new job, a different insurance policy, and maybe even a new house! All of which need to be taken account of when doing your taxes. The fact of the matter when you exploit the skills of a good accountant you may find that you get a nice tax refund. It is better pay a professional a little more than to miss out on some of the money that you deserve. As a newlywed there is more than likely a pot of gold called a tax refund sitting out at the end of an enormous paperwork rainbow. An accountant has tools that you can help you get there. Tax season is coming up... don't miss out on your money... go get an accountant!

2. Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover

I read this book for a financial class and it absolutely changed my life. It is truly a must read for any couple but especially if your a newlywed. Dave Ramsey will show you the right way to think about personal finances, exposing myths about credit cards, car payments, student loans, and credit in general. Not only will this book help you manage your money in such a way that you will know how much money you have at all times but it also shows us how to attack our debt and stop being a slave to green paper. As a newlywed tool, this book has really helped Kayla and I get on the same page with our finances, even before we got married. We have seen so many couples that hardly even talk about money let alone agree upon it. Money issues remain the number one cause of divorce, with that being said we are forever grateful for the gift of Dave and his Total Money Makeover. So, Kayla and I have decided that we want to give this same gift to someone else! 

One lucky person that retweets this post on Twitter or Shares this on Facebook is going to get a copy of the Total Money Makeover from us to you! 

I pray it blesses you as it has blessed us!

3. Simple (online banking)

Simple is an online banking company that actually cares about it's clients. These people believe in a better way of banking that does not charge people overdraft fees, helps people create a simple online budget cohesive with it's online banking service, and works incredibly hard to make an online system that allows people to simply and easily know and understand how much money they have available according to their own budgets and goals at all times. According to CNN, 76% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. You see the kind of thing that Simple understands is that people can't afford $400 of overdraft fees when they have 0 dollars in the bank. Every time that you make a payment Simple alerts you immediately after every transaction with the amount. My bank won't even alert me to let me know that I have over drafted. If you are serious about keeping track of your money and knowing how much your spending in order to get ahead of the game, we recommend Simple online banking. We are about to make the transfer from our bank to Simple here in the next couple days. It is truly almost the same as walking around with cash and paying for everything the old fashion way. 

Here is a link to Simple's website - https://www.simple.com Check it out and let us know what you think!

I pray this article finds you well! We would love to hear about some tips from the wise about financial tools that have worked for you! Comment and let us know!

-Jack Diven, The NewlyWed News

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