Youngsters before marriage find themselves perplexed when finances are being spoken of.
There is an absence of savings or a very much required emergency fund. Since their money management habits are haywire,it becomes essential that they get improved and systematic after marriage.
If the financial loopholes are not taken care of , then these become one of the biggest obstacles for both the individuals.
We would want to talk about some simple yet essential measures that can help you out during this phase of your life, Hence,we have jotted down some significant points of financial management after marriage. Have a look.
Some ways to handle finances after marriage:-
- 1. Plan for the uncertainties: – Even if you are stable in your careers and have a good salary, you both need to have a structured financial element in mind. Emergency won’t knock the door and come. Couples today are not really equipped to combat these emergencies, and are under constant stress. Unexpected illnesses, accidents, layoffs can cause a great deal of pain, and hence it is advisable to save a share of your salary over a period of time. This certainty helps to deal with the uncertainty in a much better way.
- 2. Smart Spending and Smarter Investing : When you are married, you both need to be accountable for what you spend and invest. Spending is inevitable, as it is the simplest answer to both necessities and wants. You cannot blame the other person for the spending. The bottomline is both of you spend, but on different things, and hence there is a need to set a budget.It is required that both of you get on the same page, and focus clearly on the lines of investment. Be it Investing for next year or for retirement , investment planning is the need of the hour. There are many ways of investment for long and short run both. Seeking professional advise also helps.
- 3. Set achievable financial goals: Having a foresight helps. Deviate from your monotonous life for once, and give considerable thoughts to life after 5 , 10 or 20 years. Anybody can earn money. But judicious usage of money is an art to learn. You just don’t want to walk on a path, there has to be set destinations.
You should chart out your career dreams, lifelong goals, financial expectations together and set time to achieve and fulfil them. Summarising the important and less important ones and then prioritising them is the right course of action.
- 4. Combining or Not combining accounts: So while planning finances, the question of having a joint account or a separate one arises.Both the options are working models. Let’s talk about them in detail.a)Separate accounts: – When you keep money totally separate, everything(rent, mortgages, necessities etc) has to be split . Also you need to evaluate what you spend, be careful of not spending too extravagantly, as the entire monetary responsibility shifts its weight towards your partner. Also, you need to plan to spend from each account to gain the tax benefits on Home loans, EMI, Investment Proof etc.
b)Joint Account – In this case, you would put money in a single basket, and use it to pay off and spend. However this requires financial coordination and a mutual agreement on expenditures. You need to get to the common grounds of spending, because if there is a lot of deviation in spending patterns, then there is a lot of room for monetary imbalance and arguments.
- 5. Checking Financial history – It is important for you to discuss financial history with your spouse and vice versa. Being aware of the financial history, such as the use and number of credit cards, credit scores, way of spending paints a clearer financial picture. So in case one of you has a poor credit score, then having a joint account becomes is not a smooth decision to make. So decision making is highly influenced by financial arrangement of both individuals.Managing Debts and Saving: It is good to combine accounts when the debts are cleared off in single or both accounts.Saving after the wedding is definitely a good idea, but saving before is essential too. We suggest you to open up a savings account before marriage for setting money goals beforehand and having a vision of future expenses. Both the individuals should invest a portion of their combined income after marriage, and let the account grow.
I hope we have helped you in making better decisions. Happy Wedding !
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