When we’re children our lives seems so easy. As a girl, I was carefree Alice in Wonderland. As I got older and discovered the joy of disobeying my mother I was living a scene from Mommie Dearest.

No matter what we do in life, our personal stories play out like many of the classics from the silver screen. Never is this truer than during your engagement. Getting to know your future spouse and their own personal movie time line is very important. There will be surprises along the way (probably a few I Know What You Did Last Summer moments). But, the more you learn – the better.

My future spouse and I would spend hours talking about our past, present, and what we wanted in the future. Our confessions fell into many “genres,” but the most controversial area was definitely finances.

Enter: Jaws.

You may as well prepare to be eaten alive if you don’t talk about debts, budgets, and what savings before you walk down the aisle. Many couples fail to do this and end up as fish food. But, don’t worry – not every tale ends up with the financial shark chomping away at your relationship. If you’re not afraid to talk about money, you’ll end up swimming in money!

Think about what your financial “movie” would be like? I encourage you to devote a few hour per month during your engagement to talking finances with your fiancé. These conversations will help you avoid financial failure. Enter: Titanic.

Dr. Taffy Wagner is a Certified Educator in Personal Finances and founder of DebtAtTheAltar.com She is the Creator of Money Talk Before The Commitment Walk and Debt Stops At The Altar financial education program for engaged couples and newlyweds.