Wedding Wealth: Long-Term Financial Planning for Married Couples

Weddings are the most wonderful occasions, as two people devote their lives to each other and exchange vows in holy matrimony. While it’s important to live in the moment and enjoy every part of your unique wedding experience, there are some more serious things that need to be thought about. Finances are always a talking point between couples after they tie the knot, as they usually combine their wealth and can start to plan their future together.

Building a secure financial future with your partner is very important. You should ensure that you plan your finances before you get married so that you can have the wedding wealth that you want. Managing your money with your spouse will be a challenge, but with strong communication and long-term financial planning it can be made easier.

We hope that this guide will help you eliminate any stress that you might have surrounding your marriage financial plans. Continue reading whether you’re on the verge of getting married or simply want to learn more.

Long-Term Financial Planning Advice for Married Couples

Honest Communication

Every strong marriage is built on communication and honesty. This goes for every aspect of the relationship, especially when it comes to the finances as you need to ensure that you’re on the same page with everything. Your savings, spending, income and debt all need to be discussed with your spouse and you need to be honest about it all. Making it clear how much you currently have in the bank, how much you earn each month and if you have any outstanding debts can help you get on top of your shared finances and build a better life together.

Pay Off Debts

Before you can make any future plans with your finances, you need to ensure that all of your debts are paid off. You don’t necessarily need to pay these off in full, but having a clear plan in place of what you are paying off and when will help you with getting closer to a full repayment. When repaying your debts, you should pay off the ones with the highest interest rate first so that you don’t see more increases.

Agree on Financial Goals

Goals in life give us something to strive for and provide us with purpose. Although financial goals might not be fun to achieve, they are very important for your future and especially if you are in a marriage. Having a few financial goals that you want to achieve with your spouse can help you with your planning and give you something to work towards as a couple.

Grow Credit Scores

If you and your spouse want to get a mortgage or take out a loan, you will need to be credit checked. Keeping your credit score high means you will be more likely to be accepted for credit and you can also be given improved interest rates. Your credit scores are numerical values that are given to you by the top three credit reference agencies (CRAs) in the UK. You can improve your credit score by paying bills on time, obtaining a credit card and registering to vote.

Build Your Budget

Building a budget should be essential for any married couple. Many couples use the 50 30 20 rule for their finances, as this breaks spending down into three different categories. The 50% of income will be spent on essential expenses, such as bills and food. The 30% will be for things you want in life that are necessary. Finally, the 20% can be put aside for your financial goals.

Open Joint Accounts

Opening joint accounts is something that most married couples will have to do, but it’s all about cherry picking the perfect moment to do so. When you open a joint account, you will be combining yours and your partner’s credit history. Both you and your spouse will have access to the account, so you need to ensure that you trust each other with the money that is in the account. Joint accounts can be used for the essential costs of rent, bills and food and can be much better for managing your finances.

Start Emergency Fund

There’s so many hurdles in life and obstacles that you have to overcome, even if you don’t expect them. This makes it vital that you have some emergency savings ready to protect you in case anything unexpected occurs. Having this fund will ease the strains on your relationship and finances, as your general wellbeing will be improved.

Become a Couplepreneur

Starting a business with your spouse can be a great way of improving your finances and giving you a long-term financial goal. You’ll need to be smart with your money and make sure that your incomings are going to be more than your outgoings. If you want to keep your money and assets protected, you will need to consider getting cover like trade credit insurance which can protect you from loss of earnings.