Planning to get married is an exciting experience. This is because it marks the beginning of a new phase in your life and it has so much prospect to be incredible. While you are in this anticipation to tie the knot, you need to be financially aware. Some many distractions and responsibilities come with this commitment. Therefore, as you are preparing for the wedding, you need to consider life after, especially when it comes to finances. This post highlights and briefly discusses 6 major money moves you need to make before getting married.
Talk About Money
Open communication should be the foundation of this conversation. Discussing one’s financial situation can be a daunting situation. Thus, be receptive to what your partner has to say. The aim of this is to understand where each of you is standing in terms of credit score, debt, income, and other financial responsibilities. This is also a way to learn about someone’s spending habits.
Considering how delicate this topic is, do not bring it up randomly. If possible, schedule a date with a time and place. This gives each of you time to prepare mentally, collect information, and gather necessary documents. Furthermore, this will set a precedent for your relationship since this topic remains relevant, even in marriage.
Save
If you are planning to have a wedding, you know there is going to be a lot of spending. Your aim should be not getting into debt because of the special day. When you discuss the financial situation both of you are in, introduce the idea of saving for the wedding. Putting money aside gives you peace of mind and gives you an organizational advantage. Factor in all that you will need plus the honeymoon and decide how long it will take to come up with the total if each of you contributes a certain amount every month. Opening a savings account is advisable for this.
Discuss Goals
Getting married means you are choosing to spend your life with someone. This includes achieving milestones and growing together. Present your hopes and dreams in all areas since they are bound to affect your finances, directly or indirectly. Talk about going back to school, buying a car and a house, traveling the world, starting a foundation and any other relevant thing. This will help you come up with a game plan on how to reach those goals.
Create Rules
Although this might sound extreme, it a crucial part of the process. Evaluate the spending habits presented and identify those that might affect your financial security. Rules can be in the form of setting a monthly limit on a particular expense, such as eating out. You should also talk about what procedure to follow when you want to make a significant purchase. Some rules could fall under the guidelines of always informing your partner before a big buy. Also, you could settle on pre-planning and saving for an item when you decide you need it.
Budget for Two
For some people, creating a budget seems tedious, so they come up with a limit and live within it. While this might work in a marriage, it is going to take too much effort. Take time to understand how much you spend, individually, in a month. Once you have a personal budget, it is easy to combine them to form one.
Create an Emergency Fund
As you come up with a budget, questions about accounts will come up. This is where you decide whether you want a joint account for everything or one for bills. You could also divide responsibilities and keep your accounts. Whichever choice you make, you need to have an emergency fund. This will help you deal with unexpected circumstances that could otherwise shake your finances.
Conclusion
These moves will help you get into the marriage with an understanding of what you can do. You also get an idea of what you are getting yourself into. The weight of these conversations causes reluctance in most people. If you are concerned about what you will find out, schedule the discussion a long time before the wedding. This will allow you to cool off. Remember, you can always use a professional to help you get through it.
