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5 Tips for Newlyweds to Create a Strong Financial Future

  June 27

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strong financial futureThe following is a guest post. To submit a guest post idea to Budget Blonde, please e-mail Cat [at] Budget Blonde [dot] com.

Editor’s Note: June is wedding season, y’all, and that means lots of couples will be tying the knot, taking their honeymoons, and trying to get through that first year of marriage! I’ve written about newlyweds and finances before, and those posts always seem to get a good response since so many couples handle money differently. The best part is that everyone wants a strong financial future so please  feel free to share your own financial tips for newlyweds in the comment section below!

After the excitement of your wedding and honeymoon dies down, it can be hard to face up to the more difficult decisions that await your life together. While talking about finances can be tricky, it’s an essential part of your future, and as such needs to be tackled head on. Here are 5 great tips for newlyweds to create a strong financial future together.

Make a Decision on Shared Accounts

Having shared bank accounts is a highly personal decision that not every couple will choose to make. Even after being in a serious relationship, many people wait until their wedding to take the plunge and join their bank accounts together. If you still want to retain a certain degree of individual independence, why not each have a personal account on the side for your own use. This way, the big bills and joint expenses are taken care of together, while you still both have the autonomy to make smaller financial decisions for yourselves.

Joint Budgeting

Having a good budget is an essential step in ensuring the success of your financial future. This allows you to work through your joint income and expenses, and allocate your funds as a couple. Without a clear budget, it’s easy for small misunderstandings to start placing serious financial strain on your relationship.

Work on Your Goals for a Strong Financial Future

With your accounts and budgeting sorted, it’s important to sit down and work out your financial goals as a couple. Think about where you want your money to be going, whether it’s towards a home downpayment, buying a new car, or working off your previous debts. As a couple, you will be motivated to stay on track with your finances if you have a clear and realistic set of goals.

Be Honest

It’s important to be open and honest with your partner when it comes to your finances. Whether you are working to reduce your debt or are paying off your credit card, it’s essential that you tell your partner about it. Nothing is worse than feeling like the trust of your relationship has been violated simply because you didn’t feel comfortable disclosing your debt.

Seek Professional Advice

Sometimes it can be really beneficial to have the advice of a financial professional, so please don’t feel like asking for help means that you have failed in terms of your finances. In fact, it’s a step in the right direction. In the US, you can seek the help of debt consolidation specialists, a financial adviser, or an accountant.

While it might not be easy to talk about your financial situation, keeping your lines of communication open and honest will help you to secure a strong financial future. Essentially, talking about your finances is an integral part of any marriage, so it pays to start working together as early as you can!

Emma is a personal finance geek who loves to blog about a range of money-related matters.

What are your financial tips for newlyweds? Do you have a joint account with your spouse?

11 responses to “5 Tips for Newlyweds to Create a Strong Financial Future

  1. These are great tips, Cat. As someone who was just married 2 years ago, I can attest that all of these are important. I think the most important one is to be honest. It can be hard to be honest about certain financial items, but your relationship will suffer in the long run if you’re not. It’s important to be honest all of the time, even with the little things.

  2. I am glad that my boyfriend and I are already working on most of these. We aren’t combining finances yet, but we split the bills on everything while focusing on our student loans individually. It is very important to be on the same page together, especially with money.

  3. Great tips. It always surprises me how many couples I meet that I have never really talked about finances (even though their money is co-mingled) or about what they want to do with their money. You have to communicate and learn how to use your money together.

  4. All of these are very important and it also helps to unify the marriage in my personal experience.

  5. All great tips but I would suggest doing most of these or at least talking about them before the wedding. You would be surprised how much problems can arise from finances. A lot of people have different ways of handling money and dealing with debt. Make sure you know what you are actually getting into be you say i do.

  6. They say that financial issues are the #1 source of martial problems so couples should absolutely talk about it even though it’s not the most fun thing to do. I agree with Thomas that couples should talk before the wedding. We were required to go to a one-day premarital counseling session through the church before getting married and they went through a list of things that couples should discuss which included financial issues. We both found it very helpful.

  7. I think the most important thing you can do as a newlywed couple is have a shared vision for what your goals are. If one person wants to live in a $3M house – and is willing to work like hell to get there – while the other person wants a stress-free life and would be happy in a $150k home and really only cares about having enough time with their family and friends, this could cause a serious problem.

  8. Communication is key. If you hide things you are bound for disaster. We have a joint account for common expenses but all the rest is separate so we are free to spend what we want on what we like. That said we aren’t married.. But I would like that in marriage too.

  9. This article is super helpful! The “money talk” is something that can’t be avoided since, when you do get married, each person’s financial history affects each other’s records. Will definitely need to share this article. Thanks so much for sharing these tips with us!

  10. Excellent article. For me and my spouse, mutual funds work. We also invested on real estate and stocks. I guess everything will be worth it in the long run. You just need to be more financially active today, and keep on working hard.

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