Married Money: Savings
Do you find it difficult to make your money last until your next pay day? With interest rates at historically low levels, you’ve probably been doing your best to save money as you prepare for the big day ahead. However, once the wedding is over don’t get put off saving money by these low rates of return. Once you’ve dealt with any unstructured debt, getting to grips with putting money aside on a regular basis to help you and your partner achieve the things you want in life after you are married is essential.
If that was dropped from the top of the Empire State Building he's a gonner.
The recession and worries about the state of the economy means you really do have to think before lashing out and spending on your credit card. Ok, so waiting until you have the money before you buy something is not that exciting, but it’s a great approach to take.
You can save money in lots of ways. After all, it’s just money that you aren’t spending. The IFP suggests that you should try to build up a sum equal to three months income in an easy access account, to help you provide cover for emergencies, and also streamline any periods of extra spending such as Christmas.
There are lots of ways you can reduce what you spend without having a huge impact on your standard of living. You just have to make a bit of an effort. Think about your bills. When was the last time you contacted your mobile phone provider for example, to see if you can get a better deal? What about your gas and electricity bills? Do you just pay through the nose or do you shop around to get the best deals? Loyalty really doesn’t pay at the moment and you can save yourself hundreds of pounds by switching suppliers. The same goes for broadband and insurance costs too. This gives you scope to put some “rainy day” money aside, making it much easier for you to make ends meet.
Want to see how much you’d have to put aside to build up three months income? Check out this savings calculator – but don’t be deterred. If it sounds a bit daunting, you can speed that up by making greater savings in other areas of spend. With lots of uncertainty around job prospects and also the likelihood that prices will continue to rise next year for lots of key areas of household spending, getting a cash cushion in place quickly is something that will make you feel much more in control of your life.
When it comes to large cost items like cars or even houses, having a deposit to put down is essential. If you can prove to a lender that you’ve been used to saving £x per month over a long period of time, they are far more likely to offer you the loan you want based upon that commitment – as well as the down payment! There’s insufficient scope in this article for us to cover mortgage deposits in detail, but suffice to say that you need to work out your plan based on affordability and start saving as much as you can as quickly as you can.
The amount you need to put down as a deposit is likely to fall in years to come as the markets readjust to the credit crunch – but be prepared for the worst anyway. Again, use the savings calculator above to work out what you need to do to get the deposit you’re after. Once you’re married, it’s the ideal time to look at your joint finances and see where economies can be made in order to create some extra room for savings, so you can get what you want in life. Beware- if you fail to plan – then you plan to fail!
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