Newly Wed?- Here are Few Financial Essentials

Marriage is one of the most important event of anyone’s life and it change one’s lifestyle. It is fact that money plays a very important role in success of any marriage and so deserves adequate attention right from the beginning of married life. The first thing that couples should do after marriage is to check their financial appetites, preferences and compatibility so that a common road map can be chalked out for their joint future.

Financial Musts
There are certain legal processes, which have serious implications on one’s financial status which must be undertaken as soon as possible after tying a knot.

-> Change of Name: In many Indian families girls have to change either their first name or last name as per groom’s family, so there is need of updating this change in your financial records.

-> Change of Address: If one is likely to move out after marriage into a separate accomodation, all banks and financial institutions that you are dealing with must be appraised of the new address.

-> Change of Nominee: One has to change nominee at various places such as bank accounts, securities, insurance policies and other investment arenas.

-> Change of Will: In case there is an existing will then the details of inheritence will have to be changed or else a new will has to be created.

But these are required if you want to make combined investment, and if you plan to keep your finances separate then there is no need of above changes. The only thing is that there should be consistency.

Chalk Out a Family Budget
A completely new approach to financial planning has to be adopted keeping in view the new responsibilities and roles. The responsibility of monitoring of earnings, expenses and investments has to be divided among the partners so that a tight control is maintained. In case either has an outstanding loan, the repayment from combined funds has to be planned so as to pay off at the earliest and start afresh. Some long term as well as high cost financial goals such as vacations abroad and purchase of home or call will necessitate careful planning and disciplined implementation right from the beginning to be realized in time. The goals must be realistic and should cater for a few unseen circumstances.

Get a Decent Insurance Cover
Both have to take adequate insurance cover depending on their income and perceived financial goals in the absence of the other. Existing cover may require to be enhanced keeping in mind the dependence of another life on your income. The couple will have to initially work out the amount that they spare for the premiums of the policy and compare it with their need for cover. Expert advice from financial planner can also be taken for the accurate estimate of requirements against the funds available.

Have an Emergency Fund Ready
The nature of life is unpredictable. Prior to marriage the need for emergency funds was limited to own needs only, post marriage this must cater for the combined needs alongwith that of parents . So an emergency fund that is approximately half a year of expected family expenses must be kept aside within easy and quick access.

Financial success of a family depends on equal effort and team work from both the partners that would ensure financial stability and success over a long period of time.