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Five Tips On How To Prepare For Finances In Marriage For Newlyweds
Tips and Trends | January 14, 2021
Are you a newlywed or getting married soon? It’s time to have a talk about money – not wedding day or honeymoon money, but your life-as-a-married-couple money. Super romantic, right?
Being on the same page about finances in marriage is key to establishing a successful foundation as newlyweds. While the thought of paying for a wedding or combining finances can feel overwhelming, it doesn’t have to ruin your newlywed bliss! Let’s explore how you can prepare your finances for marriage.
Finances in Marriage: Determine Your Wedding Payment Plan
PC: Marianne Lucas
We all know it – weddings aren’t cheap. In fact, a 2021 survey by The Knot showed that the average cost of receptions was $22,500 (crazy, right?!). Couples can go into major debt financing their big day, adding a lot of unnecessary stress to their brand-new partnership. To avoid overspending while you’re wedding planning, sit down with your partner to discuss expectations for your special day and how your current financial situation can support them. To figure out what’s affordable before you both say “I do,” map out your financial objectives in detail, including:
Individual Financial Health
A secure financial foundation starts with honesty. Being transparent about your money is extremely important! Each partner should perform a complete inventory that includes their income, debt, retirement accounts, bank accounts, and any assets they’re bringing into the marriage. This strategy, beyond helping you figure out how you’re going to pay for your wedding, will also help you create a budget! Additionally, this will help you tackle any debt and pursue your financial goals as a team (#teamworkmakesthedreamwork). This type of early planning even works if you’re signing a prenup.
If you’re looking to apply for any financial products as a couple, like a mortgage or an auto loan, you’ll want the nitty-gritty on each other’s credit scores. Your marital status won’t affect the interest rates you’re offered – but your individual credit scores will! Lenders typically consider each partner’s credit score to determine how much money they’ll lend and at what interest rate. Plot twist: lenders often use the lower of the two scores. If your partner’s credit score is in bad shape or you might need some help with your own, consider taking the time to boost your scores and rebuild your credit history before committing to any new financial responsibilities.
Individual Financial Goals
They say communication is key. In addition to figuring out how to “marry” your finances, communicate about individual financial goals as well. Let’s say you’re looking to start a family, but your partner wants to pay off their student loan debt (dilemma!). Knowing what to prioritize personally versus what to prioritize as a couple will help you analyze your finances, determine where your money will be best spent, and how much you can budget for your nuptials.
Working with a tight wedding budget? No problem! You can still have an awesome wedding. Hire an affordable caterer, keep your guest list intimate, and send out e-invites. These are just a few easy ways to save for your finances in marriage. In the long run, the memories you create with family and friends will outshine the fancy floral centerpieces or the beach-front venue.
Finances in Marriage: Determine Financial Responsibilities
But what happens after you’ve cut the wedding cake, enjoyed the honeymoon, and everyday life sets in? Now that you’ve merged your lives and your finances, you’ll have to decide how to split financial obligations like bills, savings, and day-to-day purchases. Will you and your partner get a joint bank account? Will you maintain separate accounts? Or will you do a bit of both? While there’s no right way to manage your accounts, you’ll want to explore what works best for your new marriage.
Take the time to understand the advantages and disadvantages of each strategy. For example, a shared account makes it very easy to track your spending as a couple! However, it can also become a source of conflict if one partner requires a lot more retail therapy than the other. On the flip side, while separate accounts allow you to maintain your financial independence and manage your income, it can be tedious to split expenses. Due to this, some couples opt for a hybrid approach to their finances — joint accounts for mutual expenses and separate accounts for personal spending.
No matter which strategy you and your partner choose, the goal is to relieve stress on your finances in marriage! Both of you must have a solid grasp on your finances to make better financial decisions, progress toward common money goals, and improve financial confidence as a couple.
Finances In Marriage: Create a Budget — And Stick To It
A well-thought-out budget is critical to success, especially if you and your new spouse are looking to move in together after the wedding! If you already live together, you may have a budget in place, but it’s never a bad idea to revisit it. To avoid financial and marital stress, focus on budgeting for the necessities first, including rent, recurring bills, and the priorities you established based on your financial goals. Then, set some money aside to build a healthy emergency fund. Once you have outlined all your fixed and variable expenses, you’ll know how much money you have for discretionary spending.
Can you guess what’s harder than creating a budget? Sticking to it! It’s practically impossible to remember every line item on your budget, so consider using a handy tracker or spreadsheet to help manage the details. Budgeting together is a surefire way to remain financially transparent, hold yourselves accountable, and achieve your money goals – so don’t skip this important step! We get it, talking about money management is no one’s favorite topic of conversation, but you should still try to discuss your finances regularly! It’s the best way to ensure that you and your partner are continuing to work together toward common money goals and the financial health of your marriage.
Finances In Marriage: Organize Your Estate Plan
PC: Phoebe Jane Photography
Speaking of no one’s favorite topic, let’s discuss estate planning. As newlyweds, the spark hasn’t shown any sign of dimming in your new relationship, but it’s critical that you tackle this early. Taking the time to dictate what should happen to your finances, assets, and children, if you have any, will help ensure that your wishes are respected and your family, including the one you create with your partner, is as prepared as possible. No one wants to think about mortality – especially during such a happy time. However, talking about your wishes will help avoid the potential consequences of avoiding this conversation like your state making decisions on your behalf. Estate planning spares your family any legal tie-ups and can give you early peace of mind. So what do you need to do? First, tell your partner what you want and update the following:
Designate Account Beneficiaries
This includes insurance policies, wills or trusts, bank, investment, retirement accounts, and health savings accounts. Discuss whether you will elect a second beneficiary or provide detailed instructions in your wills as well.
Update Your Wills
You and your partner can create individual wills that name the other or anyone as the beneficiary. Determine how your assets should be split. This can be a sensitive subject to broach. So, take it slow and try to focus on what you’re doing, by planning ahead for the ones you love.
Determine Durable Power of Attorney
Unless you have a durable power of attorney already in place, your partner won’t be able to manage your medical and financial affairs if you become incapacitated. This can affect everything from joint bank accounts to real estate you own together. Therefor, it’s important to get this detail ironed out. To ensure that you can make decisions on each other’s behalf, designate yourselves or a third party you trust as the durable power of attorney.
Estate planning is rarely anyone’s favorite subject but planning ahead is the best way to give your family the gift of security.
Finances In Marriage: Put Your Relationship First
PC: Rachel Laxton Photography
Money comes with baggage and can be a tricky topic to navigate but avoiding the subject can put the long-term health of your relationship at risk. To keep your marriage as strong as possible, you’ll need to work through these tough conversations early. Making finances a priority from the start is the best way to establish a healthy relationship between your new marriage and your money.
Successful financial intimacy focuses on five elements: equality, inclusivity, transparency, sustainability, and flexibility. We’d like to add another element to the list: mutual respect. It can be so easy to overlook feelings and the state of your relationship when you’re busy looking for financial solutions. It’s okay to fight for financial priorities, but you have to fight fair. Be honest, willing to listen, calm, and show each other some grace. Money isn’t everything.
If you’d like some additional pointers on talking to your significant other about money or having specific questions about combining finances, bring someone else into the conversation – a financial coach.
We know that talking about finances as newlyweds can be challenging and even a little scary. But these conversations don’t have to be hard! The more open and honest you are now, the easier it will be to manage your finances in the future. As the old saying goes, “Two is better than one.” Building your partnership to uphold your financial values early will allow you to enjoy your newlywed days, look forward to your future aspirations, and turn your goals into a lifelong plan of action.
