re: Finances for Newly Wed

Pay off high interest debt first. Most likely your CCs, then your cars, then your student loans. Don’t ignore her aunt’s money either, that would be taking advantage of your family, and you don’t want that

I’d shoot for paying off everything in 10 years, but you could easily do it in 5. That’s very doable with your income, your estimated tax bracket, and projecting that you’ll want to buy a house and probably have a kid or two. And that’s considering your income as flat, which it probably won’t be, as you stated

If I were you, I’d put all of our money together in one joint account, and agree to ask the other person if you spend more than a certain amount on one purchase, and same if you spend more than a certain amount total every month on unnecessary purchases. Basically if you buy a set of golf clubs, you ask her. If she buys 5 pairs of shoes over a month, she asks you. Some people buy a lot of small things, so that’s a way to manage small purchases in large quantities or few big purchases

Budget for everything before the month begins, and review your bills when the month ends. This is a good to manage your financial expectations, make sure you’re hitting your goals, encourage saving, and make sure no one stole your credit card and you didn’t realize it. Reviewing bills together makes it easier to have discussions like “hey honey can you turn off some lights before you leave for work today”