Marriage is beyond just the unison of two people coming together to create and share a new life; it is also about sharing responsibilities together, especially the financial ones. Financial management and investment planning are a few indicators that reflect a good marriage.
Recently, marriage institutions have seen many powerful couples, where both the husband and wife have strong financial independence. Often we find individualistic financial goals that need to be integrated into the family’s financial goals for a strong financial future.
A strong financial future may also be the key to a happy married life. Here are a few tips for newlyweds to strengthen their financial future.
1) Communicate and understand your differences
Financial goals and dreams are rarely alike. You may not necessarily have the same goal or a financial dream. It is imperative that you sit down and discuss and communicate your dreams and assess how you can meet each other halfway in a conducive approach for your goals which may include but are not limited to,
- Holiday or getaway planning
- Business goals
- Family planning
- Significant purchases such as a car or a house
- Retirement planning.
The acknowledgment of differences may also be necessary for daily household expense management.
2) Clearly discuss your financial responsibilities.
If you and your spouse both work, you may want to divide the responsibilities for household expenses, investment commitments, EMIs, and so on. You would need to assess the overall inflow of cash and plan how you would manage your bank accounts, credit cards, investments, insurance, loans, etc.
One of the easiest means of achieving this is to have a joint account where both of you will transfer funds and provide for transactions using the same account, majorly for paying joint expenses such as bills, rent, groceries, family holidays, and more.
3) Having an emergency corpus
Change is the only constant in life; unexpected events or surprises are part of it. This can’t be more true in current times than ever. As a result of increased uncertainty around jobs, health problems have increased amid a grim economic situation. The COVID-19 pandemic has only iterated the need for having an emergency fund that will help you tackle financially stressful situations with ease. You can always invest in corporate bonds or other fixed-income assets such as corporate deposits, which can give you higher returns and deliver consistent periodic returns that you can reinvest and keep the flow of returns going on.
4) Hedge each other’s health and life risk
Now that you are both a family, you will have to take care of each other in every way possible. If you’re financially independent, you would contribute to your current lifestyle. If you do want your partner to continue living their current lifestyle, it is imperative that you avail yourself and their life cover too adequately. Rurash Financials can help you with your health insurance plan in such a way that you or your partner never run out of insurance coverage, along with a no-claim bonus of up to 200%, which is the highest in the industry.
Life insurance plans from HDFC Life and Max Life insurance are smart, helpful options available to keep you and your partner insured at all times. Connect with our relationship manager here to know more.
5) Plan for your long-term goals in advance
Generally, when you start investing initially, you do not necessarily have any large expenses in mind, but buying a house or a car or any high-ticket expense can come up eventually in the long term. It is always best to plan for it as early as possible.
The sooner you begin, the better. There is nothing better than getting a head start on your long-term financial goals. The magic of compounding can only be experienced with time. The longer the time, the higher the corpus. This way, it is relatively easier to achieve your goals without any major issues.
6) Joint ownership or co-borrower on home loans
Whenever you buy a home, if you and your spouse are both earning members, then the smart way would be to optimize your tax benefit by being a joint owner on the home loan. For maximum tax benefits, the house should always be held in joint names.
Banks often provide a concession of 0.05% on interest rates for female borrowers. This way, both of you can claim the tax benefit on the home loan principal amount under Section 80C, and the interest paid can be claimed under Section 24.
Many times, you may be unable to obtain a home loan due to a lack of viable collateral or high-interest rates; this is where a loan against security may come in handy and would greatly assist you. A loan against security only requires you to pledge your financial securities such as stocks, mutual fund units, or even your insurance policies to be pledged as collateral for loans, and you can easily avail of loans up to 80% of the market value of the securities. The best part is that it works as an overdraft facility, so you pay interest only on the amount withdrawn. This also allows you to make flexible payments based on your cash flow with no restrictions on the end use of funds.
Conclusion
Financial security is one of the cornerstones of a secure and happy married life. Strategic investment planning can go a long way in helping you accomplish your financial goals. Entering into a new life with someone else is a big responsibility for both of you! Make sure each decision counts.
Rurash Financials is one of India’s investment management firms, providing financial solutions to augment the client’s wealth and build a legacy.