If you’re getting married you probably have a lot of questions on how your life will change in regards to finances. It can be tricky business merging to financial lives together. If you want to have a long, healthy, and happy life together you have to sort things out financially. The leading cause of divorce is money matters so if you don’t have a clear understanding on how you both operate in regards to money, you’re stacking the odds against you. Here are some quick tips you can use to make your marriage stand the test of time:Are you compatible? Money is a sensitive subject and many couples avoid discussing the finances with each other. Finances are just one of the many issues that you need to talk about before getting married. You need to know what you’re getting yourself into before you say “I do.” Many officiates will offer pre-marital counseling and this is a good time to bring up the subject of money, especially if you suspect you might have problems with it down the road.Think of the taxes. Your tax bill could be higher as a married couple than it is now. So considerably higher that you might want to plan your wedding around it. The only way to find out exactly how it will effect you is to break out a tax return, put in you and your partner’s numbers and see how the IRS will treat you after you’re married.Make joint goals. If you both have differing ideas of what you should be doing with your money it’s as if you’re both tethered to each other but trying to run in different directions. You won’t get very far until you synchronize your efforts. You won’t know what the other person feels is important until you sit down and talk about your financial goals.How will you handle finances? Some married couples pool their money together while others keep things mostly separated. Mixing money can have its good and its bad qualities. Talk with your partner about how you both think money should be handled once you’re husband and wife.Team up on employer benefits. If you’re both employed full time and are receiving benefits you’ll want to compare them and see which one offers better coverage for you both. One of you will likely have better benefits than the other, and you’ll want to switch your coverage to the better one.Talk about insurance. If you both are dependent on each other’s income then you’ll want to insure each other in the even that something happens. If you can make do without the other’s income then you probably don’t need to worry about the added cost of getting insurance.Keep your wills current. Updating your wills is an important thing to do and you should make one if you haven’t done so yet. With any major life change you’ll want to keep your will current and also reconsider the beneficiaries you have listed.

More Of Water’s Cold Season Photo OpsIn this article we’ll cover photography tips for overcoming the photo doldrums with water as icy streams, freezing rain, icicles and snowflakes:#1 – Icy Streams: A quietly running stream won’t make “tenacious grace” but after it thinly freezes over, it may sculpt the underside of the ice with the gently running water and any air bubbles that get trapped there. The resulting patterns can be very photogenic.#2 – Freezing Rain: A special instance of ice is freezing rain. Look for interesting things – grasses, leaves, branches and twigs, etc encased in it. Exposure can be tricky with the reflected light, so bracket your exposures!#3 – Icicles: Spikes of ice formed when ice or snow is melted by sunlight or some other heat source, and the resulting melted water runs or drips into an area where the temperature is below the freezing point, causing the water to refreeze. Over time continued water runoff/dripping causes the icicle to grow. Icicles can be found under roof edges of buildings and on branches and twigs, etc. Whether solitary or in groups, they can be very photogenic when back or side lit or hanging against a dark background.#4 – Snowflakes: You take these pictures outside by catching the flakes on a towel, then transferring the flakes with a short plastic stick to a microscope slide, then placing the slide on a somewhat larger piece of glass which is suspended about 6″ above a sheet of colored poster board, then shoot straight down with a macro-focusing lens. For more sophisticated tools and techniques, just do an online search using “snowflake photos.”Self-Assignments For Above Photography TipsChoose the projects that interest you most. Follow the photography tips conscientiously. Re-shoot when you aren’t satisfied. Do it til you are satisfied. It’ll take all your patience and passion. Your skills and eye will improve with the practice. Shoot especially in early and late light. Use a tripod as much as possible. Edit your results relentlessly. Pin small samples on the wall for a few days to study before making final prints for wall art.Photography Tip #1 – Icy Streams: Locate a quietly running stream in freezing weather and it will probably form smooth ice on top. The underside of the ice will be etched by the running water and any air bubbles in it, creating lines and patterns. Shoot straight down on it for an overall sharp picture.Photography Tip #2 – Freezing Rain: When a heavy freezing rain falls, the problem becomes one of too many interesting things to shoot! Take your time and look around to find something really outstanding, more or less by itself, with a dark or strongly colored background and shoot it.Photography Tip #3 – Icicles: In freezing weather check out the eaves troughs around rooftops of houses and heated garages, looking for icicles. Try, if possible, to find them around eye level or slightly lower so you can keep the entire icicle(s) sharp top to bottom when you take your pictures.Photography Tip #4 – Snowflakes: Set up your snowflake “studio” and proceed to get a couple of flakes together on your microscope slide. Place the slide above a piece of medium-dark blue poster board, and then shoot straight down on the flakes.In the final article of this set we’ll consider photography tips for overcoming the photo doldrums with two more of water’s cold season photo op’s: snow scenes and snow storms.