One of the most common issues that new couples fight about is money. If you are recently married, you should address your financial situation sooner rather than later. Below are just a few steps you can take to tackling your finances after marriage.
Discuss Your Goals
Every couple should try to have an honest conversation about their financial goals. This includes when they want to retire, what they consider important when it comes to finances, and how they have budgeted their money in the past. This conversation will help set you both on the path to understanding one another’s financial strengths and weaknesses.
Make a Budget
Once you know your goals, it’s time to make a budget. It is very important that both spouses be involved in this process, not only so that they will be able to better create a budget that deals with their own financial realities, but also so that they can come up with a reasonable budget that they both are willing to stick to. Making a budget really is the first step on the path to financial readiness.
Get a Joint Account
Your next step should be to visit a bank so that you can set up a joint bank account for mutual expenditures. While it is very common for couples to maintain separate accounts, having something in place for paying your mortgage, utility bills, and other bills that you share in common. Sharing an account is a good way to ensure that you have some source of common funds for those expenditures that benefit both of you.
Look for a Rewards Card
Although Dave Ramsey believes that you should never use a credit card, that is a bit unreasonable in this day and time. If you can pay it off every money (and do so) a credit card can be a source of “free money”. This way you can start putting your daily spending to work. It’s usually a good idea to get a credit card that offers some kind of reward, whether that’s cashback or airline tickets. It’s still a good idea to look at fees and interest rates, but having a credit card that you can use for daily spending and pay off immediately really can help you to get more from the money that you are already spending.
Other ways to get cashback are from a variety of apps like “ibotta”. Of course, if you spend $100 just to get $5 back that is a losing proposition but if you use cards and apps to get money back on things you were already going to buy anyway it is certainly free money.
Don’t be afraid to have tough financial conversations with your spouse. The faster the two of you can get on the same page, the better off your financial situation can be. These conversations may not always be easy, but they will help you both find a path to a future that’s less full of money woes.
