8 Financial Things to Do After Getting Married

Building an Emergency Fund

Aside from having joined or separate accounts, you should build an emergency fund as soon as possible. It’s our top-priority advice for newlyweds. You want to be prepared in case something unexpected happens, such as losing a job, becoming ill, having a home repair, and more. Save money for 6 months of regular household expenses if you can. That should cover the expenses in case of an emergency.

Designing Budget

One of the first things to plan after marriage is a monthly budget. You want to limit how much you’re allowed to spend on food, dining out, and entertainment each month. That should ensure you don’t go into depth.

Try to review your past and joint expenses to plan the future ones. Also include some of the possible new investments. For example, one month you might need to repair a car or buy new clothes, etc. Don’t worry if you have to make adjustments in the first couple of months. That’s completely normal because you have to get used to the new life together.

P.S. Now you’ll probably have some new expenses for other weddings and celebrations as a couple. Here’s an article that could help you with these situations: How Much to Spend on a Wedding Anniversary Gift.

Tracking Budget

Once you design your budget, it’s crucial to stay within the planned expenses. You can do this by tracking down your expenses. Writing down all payments is still the best possible way to track things. You can either search for an online app or make a spreadsheet on your own. Either way, you should try to fill it in each month. It’s quite beneficial, you’ll see it!

Checking Out New Health Insurance Options

Checking out health insurance for newlyweds is one of the first things you should do after you get married. Luckily, you can make changes to your health insurance anytime during the year you get married. Make sure to check out all your options. It often happens that one of the spouses has a better option for adding the other one to the policy. You might even want to keep separate policies. Each situation is different, but you have to know where you stand as soon as possible. Also, don’t forget to examine and compare both of your doctor and prescription drugs costs and additional health expenses.

Other But Not Less Important Things to Remember

To make all these important financial decisions and plans work, you have to engage in a productive conversation with your spouse. Talking about these things is a little bit touchy, but it can be rather easy only if you keep in mind a few important things. Here’s what we have in mind:

No Judging

If you want to have a productive conversation with your spouse and make serious finance plans, you have to create a judgment-free space. Judging your spouse for whatever possible reason won’t take you anywhere. Regardless of your financial situation, you should both approach the conversation with compassion and neutrality. Only then you’ll be able to create a mind-blowing plan that will work best for your future!

Working as a Team

We probably don’t have to remind you about this, but we’re going to say it anyway. Working as a team is crucial! Your plan can work only if you both have the same goals in mind. Talk about your needs and wishes. You might have different perspectives, but you both want to see the other one happy. That will keep the balance and make you a dream team. Keep an eye on your strengths and weaknesses, and always support your loved one.

Talking About Everything

Now, here’s one crucial thing you should always keep in mind. All of this is a work in progress. It’s not enough to get through a single conversation about finances. For your ideas and plans to work, you need to follow each step carefully. You can do that only if you continuously talk with your partner, taking and giving advice and other kinds of suggestions. Also, for a plan to work, you’ll have to have monthly, if not weekly, meetings and discuss your progress. Yes, sometimes it can be challenging, but it’s for the greater good!

Sharing Responsibilities

Don’t forget to talk to your spouse about every possible financial detail. It’s not only about being fair to your loved one but about practical things. If you leave your spouse out of some decisions, things can go in an unwanted direction. For example, it often happens that one of the spouses forgets about the bills or depths, and then the financial situation deteriorates quickly.  We are only humans, and we can’t quite deal with everything on our own, especially not when in a bigger community. Now that you’re married, you and your spouse can rely on each other, so do exactly that when it comes to your finances.

Properly Dealing With Touchy Subjects

Fights are likely to happen in every relationship, and that doesn’t only refer to financial conversations, contrary to popular belief. However, you can avoid a lot of them if you put in some extra patience when discussing finances with your spouse. Remember that you’re on the same page but that you might have different perspectives. Your spouse might overspend because he or she thinks that something is worth the money. Even if you don’t think so, don’t start with accusations and yelling, that is unnecessary and completely wrong. Try to explain your loved one why you think otherwise what is to say have a calm conversation about a particular topic. This way, you can solve all problems and get an understanding. You’re a team, and the best one has players that watch over each other and share responsibilities. Never forget that!

Without a doubt, a time will come when you and your spouse won’t agree on something regarding the budget. Still, that doesn’t have to mean you’ll fight over a particular topic. It only means that you have to work harder to find the proper solution to your problem. Marriage is all about meeting halfway, after all, so try to accept that as part of your life.