It is a well-known fact that a significantly smaller amount of the unmarried couples will take the necessary time that is needed, and that is so important for sound financial management, then those of married couples will. Because of this fact, there are a few unique financial situations that are only relevant to the unmarried couples that are living together.

There are some very common and unique financial situations that the unmarried couples will face every single year, and this already large number seems to grow even larger year after year.

Unmarried couples and the tax situation that they face
When you consider the unmarried couple that is living together, and the federal income tax, you will notice that they actually seem to end up doing quite a bit better20than the couples who are married and living together. This is because the unmarried couples that are living together, are able to avoid having to pay the tax penalty that is known as the ‘marriage tax penalty’. This alone can save unmarried couples a considerable amount of money every single year, when the often-dreaded tax season rolls around.

Another benefit that a large number of unmarried couples who are living together will benefit in taking advantage of, is the fact that while you are living with your partner who is also single, you are able to also take advantage of filing ‘head of household’ on your tax return. As long as you qualify under a few guidelines, then you are able to file in this manner. As long as you have a dependent that you support, thus allowing you the ability of being able to claim the earned income credit – Providing that the income that you bring into the household is under the threshold, and you are able to take dependent and child care credits, are what qualifies you for being able to claim the20earned income credit. If you and your unmarried partner combine responsibility for the expenses of the household, this will normally be considered as a non-taxable sharing of the resources.

Financial and Health Issues the unmarried couple should consider
If you are in the situation where you are unmarried but living with a partner, you need to consider a will that will provide for your partner in the event of your unexpected death.

It could also be beneficial for you to make a durable power of attorney. This can help you in a couple of different ways. You can see that it will allow your partner to decide on important medical decisions for you, in the event that there has been some type of unexpected accident, and you are incapacitated. It can also give your partner the ability to make your financial decisions for you, when you are unable to yourself.

Financial Dependency
This can be a very big problem for individuals who have become so dependent financially on their partner, that if for whatever reason the partnership were to end, this could cause them a great deal of devastation financially. This is a common problem that can cause a large amount of concern for the unmarried couple.

No matter if you are a married couple, or a unmarried couple who lives together, it is very important to consider all areas of your finances to ensure that each partner will be protected in the event of a death, or if an unexpected break-up were to occur.

Luckily, there are choices that we have available to us today however that will help us repair much of the damage that has been caused from the ugly black marks of having bad credit.

One of the first things that you can consider doing when you are trying to go down the rocky road of recovery to mend your bad credit problems, is to consider getting a secured credit card. These types of credit cards are offered specifically for the individual who either has absolutely no credit at all, or the individual who is suffering from having bad credit.

The way that these credit cards can be helpful to you, and the way they work, is the customer has to make a cash deposit, then the customer is issued a credit card that has a credit limit that is of equal value to the cash deposit that they make. If you were to make a cash deposit that was in the amount of $500, then you would be issued a credit limit on the credit card you were issued, that would be equal to that, or $500.

The cash amount that you deposit against the card works as a safety net, or security for the credit card company. If for any reason you were unable to make your agreed payment and you had to default on the payment, the credit card company would be protected because of the cash deposit you had previously made.

This type of service can be extremely beneficial to the person who either has no credit at all, or the person that has struggled with having bad credit. It can be very difficult to be accepted for a line of credit at any bank or other type of lending institution if you are suffering from having no credit, or bad credit. A secured credit card takes away the worry of being denied yet again when you fill out an application.

It can be very beneficial to be able to enjoy the ability of having a credit card to use, especially when several of the other credit card companies have denied your application due to lack of credit.

Building your credit is a very important financial decision in life that you should take great care of. It is also something that will follow you around, throughout your entire life.

A young person needed to establish credit. In order to do so he/she applied for one credit card with one of the companies that specialize in helping to establish or re-establish credit. Although the interest rate was significantly higher than what this young person was comfortable with, he/she decided it was the best option at the time.

As previously recommended, this young person opened a revolving credit line at a jewelry store that also specializes in helping people to establish credit. He/she also had a cell phone, automobile insurance and a monthly car payment to make. The automobile was difficult to obtain because this youngster had no prior credit.

This young college student decided at the time of the vehicle purchase, it was time to start creating a positive credit history. Paid twice a month, utility, rent, car, insurance and cell phone payments never coincided with due dates for the bills, which left this youngster always running a few days late on every payment.

Determining this was not a good system, he/she decided to make some changes. Every month he/she started paying everything except the rent with his/her new credit card. At the end of the month, one week prior to the due date, the balance on the credit card was paid in full. After two years of having this credit history showing everything paid on or before its due date, applying for a home loan was a breeze.

The reason some would think this is not a good idea is because many do not have the discipline necessary to use their credit cards in such a manner. Far too often, monthly bills only get paid by credit card when finances are tight or something such as illness or job loss deems it a necessary.

This young person also applied for a gas card. While unwise for most under the age of 25, he/she managed to never exceed his/her monthly budget for gas. Although he/she lived with the mantra of “if I can’t pay cash for it, I don’t buy it” finding this method of bill paying actually worked for his/her advantage. After two years of perfect credit, with three or four lines of credit open and nary a single late payment on anything, his/her credit rating was flawless.

This is a rare scenario for a person under the age of 21, but in this case, it was the right thing to do. It took diligence, determination and a will power not possessed by many, young or old. By the time this young person reached the age of 21, he/she owned his/her car, was purchasing a home rather than continuing to rent and had a credit score in the mid 800’s. He/She also set into motion a format for paying all of his/her bills on time, every month and without worrying about which bills fell due between paydays. In the two years that followed the purchase of his/her first home, this young man/lady had the credit limits raised on one of his/her credit cards and has gained enough reward points to take a trip to Hawaii. Not a bad result for something others told him/her was not a sound financial decision.