Turns out that “coupling” doesn’t just mean “pairing” in the traditional sense, but is also a catchphrase when it comes to finances. As we head into wedding season, it’s especially relevant. Because as much as you may think no two people have ever been more in love than you are, the truth is that it could be less than smooth sailing ahead if you’re not on the same page when it comes to financial matters. “Couples have a very hard time talking about money,” Joan Atwood, a Hofstra University professor of marriage and family therapy, bemoaned on an NPR “Money Coach” segment on the issue. “I would say it’s the last taboo.” You have probably discussed life goals in a dreamy sort of way while dating, but turning those reveries into reality requires habitually saving to pay for them and to finance your later retirement years. This is most likely one thing you may not have thought of at a time when the median ages, respectively, for brides and grooms are 29 and 31. “While people may come into a marriage with their own assets, they need to take some time after the wedding to sit down and start getting organized as a couple,” advised a famous investment company. One thing that needs to be done is be transparent about your personal finances. There’s nothing that says you have to put all your cash into a joint account – but at the very least you’d be “less than truthful” by not divulging any outstanding debts – and then figuring out, together, how to pay them down. It is also important that you two develop a way to retain vital information in case a sudden need arises. To truly mark your financial coupling, you might consider using a trustworthy online service that lets you store, access and share all your new family’s important records and documents anywhere via a web browser or an app. With all the other things on their to-do lists, newlyweds typically don’t focus on all the important financial and other documents they need to begin married life on a solid footing, but it will make things easier for them from the start, as well as through the years as they have even more joint documents to retain – including those related to perhaps buying a house and having children.