Marriage and Queer Financial Advice
I find the concept of GLBT-specific financial planning blogs fascinating, I think for two reasons. First, I find financial blogs and money interesting in the first place, and like reading all about the different factors of money management in general, especially as it relates to legal structures (bankruptcy, mortgages, federal interest rates, etc). Second, the idea that there are monetary questions specific to GLBT families is pretty logical but a notion I hadn’t really contemplated much until recently, as it becomes more and more obvious the benefits I receive from being heterosexual and married.
Today, I was reading an article I found interesting by Melissa at Queercents (I know I mentioned this before, but best tagline ever) that talks about the intersection between the lack of gay marriage options and financial planning questions. I think a lot of the politics of gay marriage is really about how much validation the state gives to married people in the form of tax breaks, benefits, and the ability to structure life choices in a natural-seeming arc that prioritizes certain choices at certain times. As Melissa explains,
In the same way I think the concerns in the original article are even more important for LGBT people than unmarried straight people, I think laying that strong foundation is especially important for young LGBT people. The farther off the beaten path you want to live, the more secure you need to be on your own road. As long as financial systems are working against you, as long as it’s still legal to fire and evict you for your sexuality or gender identity, as long as you need to write up legal documents to secure benefits most people don’t even have to think about, it’s even more important to know how to take care of yourself.
There are two situations that seem to be in confluence here: that making choices that society doesn’t like means that you have to watch out for yourself because no one is going to help you if you fail, and also that not getting the benefits of marriage means that you have to be willing to watch out because you start out behind in the financial game to begin with.
GLBT, finances, gay marriage
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