5 Best Stocks To Own Right Now

Courtesy of Eric and Erika Torres If you're recently engaged or just married, your money concerns probably begin and end with paying for the wedding and honeymoon. But there's plenty to think about after you've tied the knot, from divvying up spending to planning a shared retirement. We asked the happily married, the happily divorced, and a few money experts to give us their best advice for newlyweds trying to sort out their combined finances. Start Talking Banker-turned-financial-consultant Denise Winston of Money Start Here says that wedding finances are a great place to start the conversation. From there, it's easy to transition to talking about debt, spending habits, and retirement planning. "I always ask clients, 'Tell me what your dream life looks like.' When you have that conversation with your partner, you can build expectations," she says. "[If] one of you wants to have kids and buy a bigger house to raise them in, and the other doesn't, you have different ideas of your dream life and how much it's going to cost." Cherylyn Murphy, a happily married communications professional with two children in N.J., says communication is key. "Make sure both parties know what's coming in, what's going out and what it takes to financially run their lifestyle. Don't lie about expenditures, hide money or make large purchases without both parties agreeing first." Get Used to Being a Couple Eric and Erika Torres publish the Newlyweds on a Budget blog, and were married after three months of dating and a three-week engagement. "The hardest aspect of combining our finances once we got married was definitely learning to view money as ours, rather than yours and mine," Erika says. "Especially when one partner makes significantly more than the other partner, a lot of resentment can build. It took us a while to finally get to a good enough place with our finances where we both feel comfortable and involved." Avoid or Pay Down Debt "Don't force yourself to buy more expensive furniture, cars, clothes, or homes just because your friends look like they're on their on their way up in the world," says journalist John Platt, happily paired in Maine. "For all you know, they're in debt up to their eyeballs." The Torreses had significant debt when they were married, but are now nearly debt-free. "We lived in a shack in someone's backyard," Erika recalls. "We put 20 percent of our take-home pay toward debt and savings. We hardly ever went out to eat and instead had friends come over. It was not easy, but we're in a much better place right now." Switch it Up Whatever decisions you make about your finances, resist the urge to put one person in charge of the couple's money. "Don't let money become one person's 'thing,'" says newly-divorced Aaron Futch, a lawyer from Bethesda, Maryland. "It should be a joint responsibility, with joint decision-making. I've seen friends who split up, and one member of the couple had no idea what their financial situation was, or how to manage their own finances in the future." Winston of Money Start Here recommends switching things up so you don't fall into a rut of who's managing the finances.

5 Best Stocks To Own Right Now: Honey Badger Exploration Inc (TUF.V)

Honey Badger Exploration Inc., an exploration stage company, engages in the acquisition and exploration of copper, gold, and base metal properties in Nevada, and British Columbia, Canada. The company was formerly known as Telkwa Gold Corp. and changed its name to Honey Badger Exploration Inc. in June 2008. Honey Badger Exploration Inc. was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

5 Best Stocks To Own Right Now: SodaStream International Ltd.(SODA)

SodaStream International Ltd. engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of home beverage carbonation systems and related products. Its home beverage carbonation systems enable consumers to transform ordinary tap water into carbonated soft drinks and sparkling water. The company offers a range of soda makers; exchangeable carbon-dioxide (CO2) cylinders; beverage-grade CO2 refills; reusable carbonation bottles; and various flavors comprising fruit, carbonated soft drink, and enhanced flavors to add to the carbonated water. It also sells additional accessories for its products, including bottle cleaning materials and ice cube trays manufactured by third parties. The company sells its products under the SodaStream and Soda-Club brand names through approximately 50,000 retail stores in 42 countries, as well as through the Internet; and distributes its products directly in 12 countries and indirectly through local distributors in other markets. It operates in Europe , North and Central America, Israel, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and east Asia. The company was formerly known as Soda-Club Holdings Ltd. and changed its name to SodaStream International Ltd. in March 2010. SodaStream International Ltd. is headquartered in Airport City, Israel.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Blake Bos]

  After a fantastic quarter for SodaStream (NASDAQ: SODA  ) , where it showed very strong growth in the U.S. -- one of its biggest focuses -- the company has now said that it is aiming for $1 billion in sales by 2016. In this video, Fool consumer goods analyst Blake Bos gives investors several reasons why he thinks the company can hit this lofty goal and some other fun facts about why SodaStream's U.S. growth is particularly impressive.

10 Best Safest Stocks To Watch For 2014: Cir-comp(CIRX.MI)

CIR S.p.A., through its subsidiaries, engages in the utilities, media, automotive components, healthcare, and financial services businesses. In the utilities sector, the company engages in the sourcing, marketing, and supply of electricity and natural gas. It operates wind, photovoltaic, hydro, thermo, and biomass power generation plants with an installed capacity of approximately 4,000 megawatts. In the media sector, the company is involved in publishing la Repuibblica national daily newspaper, 17 local dailies, 1 three-weekly paper, L'Espresso weekly magazine, 2 monthlies, 2 quarterlies, and various guide books; providing Internet and applications for mobile and new generation devices; broadcasting 3 national radio stations comprising Radio Deejay, Radio Capital, and Radio M2O; and operating the national TV channel Deejay TV, as well as the satellite channels MyDeejay and Onda Latina. In the automotive components sector, the company offers filtration systems, such as oil , engine air, petrol fuel, diesel fuel, and cabin air filters; and flexible suspension components, including coil springs for shock absorbers, stabilizer and torsion bars, stabilinks, leaf springs, precision springs, and track adjusters. In the healthcare sector, it operates nursing homes under the Anni Azzurri brand; psychiatric rehabilitation units under the Santo Stefano and Redancia brands; and hospital facilities under the Medipass brand. The company manages 60 facilities with a total of approximately 5,600 beds in central and northern Italy. In the financial sector, it engages in the acquisition and management of non-performing loans; venture capital, private equity, and hedge funds business; operation of restaurants; and provision of hospitality management training. The company has operations in Italy, other European countries, North America, South America, and Asia. CIR S.p.A. was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Milan, Italy.

5 Best Stocks To Own Right Now: Cherokee Inc.(CHKE)

Cherokee Inc., together with its subsidiary, SPELL C. LLC, engages in marketing and licensing brands and trademarks for apparel, footwear, home, and accessories primarily in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Europe, and South Africa. It owns various trademarks, including Cherokee, Sideout, Sideout Sport, Carole Little, Saint Tropez-West, Chorus Line, and All That Jazz. The company also assists other brand-owners, companies, wholesalers, and retailers in identifying licensees or licensors for their brands or stores. As of January 29, 2011, it had 30 licensing agreements. The company has a strategic relationship with Target Corporation (Target) that grants Target the exclusive right in the United States to use the Cherokee trademarks in certain categories of merchandise. Cherokee Inc. was founded in 1988 and is based in Van Nuys, California.

5 Best Stocks To Own Right Now: Diamonds North Resources (DDN.V)

Diamonds North Resources Ltd., an exploration stage company, engages in the acquisition and exploration of mineral properties in Canada. The company explores for diamonds, gold, nickel, copper, and silver ores. Its principal properties are located in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. The company primarily focuses on the Amaruk property that comprises the Ekati and Diavik diamond mines covering approximately 971,000 acres located in the Pelly Bay diamond district of eastern Nunavut. Diamonds North Resources Ltd. was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.