Financial Planning For Married Life
No one is saying that financial planning is the sort of thing that any of us want to address – in a report released today 1 in 4 Brits are basing their future financial situation on the hope that they’re going to win the lottery.
However, getting married is a natural time to consider putting your finances in order. Fortunately, this week is Financial Planning Week and so we asked those helpful bods at The Institute of Financial Planning to recommend some steps to getting financially fit prior to the Big Day.
- Working out your life goals and objectives should be a priority. Spend time and have some fun talking about what is important to you in the short, medium and long term.
- Talk about family stuff, career stuff and dreams that you both might have. Put some strategies in place including costs, timescales etc. to achieve some of these. Start early and make sure you understand what each of you want out of life.
- In married life it is important to have a budget and a clear allocation and understanding of income and expenditure so that you can still do the things that are important to you personally, as well as to you as a couple.
- You also need to understand that things will go wrong and steps need to be considered to protect you both. Insurance is part of that. How would you cope if you crashed your car or if one of you lost your job? Make sure that you properly protect what is important to you both – and that includes writing your wills.
- Also consider where you can get most help to make the right decisions, especially as your wedding and honeymoon may have left you short of cash. Too many people rely on websites and their mates in the pub to form the basis of important decisions. Make sure that is not all you do and seek other help where appropriate.
- While it is likely to be the last thing on your mind at this happy time, you should put some thought into what will happen in the worst case scenario.
- It may also be worth considering a pre-nuptial agreement. It is also important to work out with your partner what assets you have and who owns them. Consideration will need to be given to whether the ownership of some of these should be changed for tax reasons or just simply to give both of you comfort.
If insurance, mortgages and cash just gives you a headache seriously consider making an appointment with an Independent Financial Advisor. Getting advice can be free and will give you an informed opinion on all sorts of financial issues.
The Financial Planning Week website has some good tips and suggestions to help you get your accounts in order. It’s not sexy, it’s sometimes tough but a little hassle now can save you (and earn you) thousands over the course of your life, you know it makes sense…
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