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After months of planning, worrying, and spending, thinking about post-wedding finances can feel like too much. Taking immediate steps after marriage can be vital for newly minted couples. In fact, with money serving as the number one cause of stress in relationships, according to one survey, the immediate steps that take place after a wedding can set the stage for the rest of the marriage.
1. Get on the same page.
Marriage is a partnership—and that partnership should include discussing financial matters as well as personal ones. This means you should be in constant communication and share similar priorities. Consider taking these steps to ensure both parties are fully invested.
- Consider a joint account. Together, decide whether you want joint checking and saving accounts and which bank you’d like to use. Combining accounts also means that both partners should now take a communal approach to debt, rather than viewing any particular debt as an individual.
- Agree to a budget. Surprisingly, 59% of Americans don’t have a budget. Budgets can help couples stay out of debt and prioritize expenses. However, agreeing to one together can require a bit of time. Apps like Mint, Personal Capital, Every Dollar or You Need a Budget can be helpful here. These easily integrate with existing accounts to automatically track expenses and send alerts when you’ve reached your agreed-upon limits.
- Communicate. Be open and honest about debts, obligations, and assets. It’s best to discuss existing savings, debts and financial obligations before getting married. If you haven’t had the talk yet, now’s the time. Create a strategy for paying off debt and setting up long-term and short-term savings goals. It will also help you avoid any large surprises down the road.
- Get some perks. Some credit cards offer lucrative bonuses for adding authorized users to the account. Put those gains to immediate use on a honeymoon or future vacation. There are also several credit cards that can help you get more points from airlines, meaning you can get to your destination without breaking the bank.
2. Evaluate your insurance options.
Once you’re married, evaluate your insurance options. Health insurance can sometimes be easier thanks to marriage, as one individual can hop on a spouse’s plan and cancel an old policy. You’ll want to fully investigate your own situation and look at the coverage offered by each policy before jumping on any plan. You’ll also want to reconsider renters insurance costs, especially if you’re living together. There’s no need to pay for two separate policies once you’re married.
3. Create your household goals.
Agreeing on the terms of a budget and creating joint bank accounts are great steps forward, but they won’t help unless you also create a strategy for handling money overall. What are your household goals? As many as 48% of people aren’t aware of their partners’ investment account balances, which suggests that about half of married couples aren’t doing enough to keep track of their financial goals together.
Setting long-term goals can help determine budgeting strategies, including how much money to put aside for saving, investing or a down payment on a house. Additionally, agreeing on how to start and raise a family can help couples understand upcoming challenges.
4. Handle the details.
After getting married, reviewing the details of your financial situation can feel a bit overkill. However, it’s important to address these small details early on so there are no surprises later. Here are a few you might want to consider.
- Update W-2 withholding forms with your employer.
- Update your legal paperwork, like wills. If you don’t have one, consult a lawyer to construct your first will.
- Update beneficiaries on your retirement accounts to add your spouse.
Although the most immediate, enjoyable event after a wedding is the honeymoon, there are a few steps you can take to make your post-honeymoon life better as a couple. Use perks to extend the quality of the honeymoon, and use your accounts to get on the same page financially to set up a smooth road for year one and beyond.
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This content is sponsored by ValuePenguin.
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Photo credit: Pixabay