Wouldn’t it be beautiful having someone to spend your life with? If yes, then one must find time to rejoice, pray, and seek blessings in their endeavour to such life partner. Having a life partner can change every aspect of your life, be it social, economic, religious and financial. Therefore, if you have plans to settle down with a life partner, you must not forget about all plans’ key component – “Financial Plan”.
As a growing professional Accountant and blogger, and newly wedded for that matter, here are five elements of bright financial plans I have composed for a would-be couple:
1. BE HONEST WITH YOUR FINANCIAL STRENGTH
Have you once heard guys saying that “do not disclose your financial strength to your wife”? this is a common belief amongst most men, and I am not in support of this school of thought. Partners should be acquainted with or have a fair understanding of each other’s financial strength. Being truthful about your financial position will help you to manage expectations and planning. It will help each of you to align budget to earnings optimally. It promotes are more coherent and well-defined ambitions of the partners for a successful matrimonial life.
2. BUDGET EARLY
Marriage is a gradual process, in many stages. Therefore, if you have already found a life partner to settle down with, it is better to start budgeting for key marriage activities early. Here, it would help if you asked as many questions as possible about your partner’s wishes. For instance “wedding type”, the family of the bride requests, and this should be planned into numbers and finally ranking of the wants/needs based on the “Need to have”.
3. AVOID UNNECESSARY SPENDING
Often, weddings would cost a person’s lifetime savings to go as low as zero, in the worst case, forcing the bride and groom indebted. If you plan to settle down, make sure your expenses are limited to the income at disposal. This could be avoided if point 1 and 2 are addressed. Do not spend to impress the society if financial support is not available. You may achieve this by going in for the garment you could afford and the reception type you can afford.
4. KEEP YOUR PERSONAL EXPENSES LOW
Keeping personal expenses as low as possible should be a habit. Spending when it is necessary is key to personal growth and financial success. Therefore, if your plans to marry are fast approaching, try to cut spending on things that do not add any value to your life. Maintaining a relatively lower expenditure would help you save for your wedding expenses.
5. SET ASIDE SAVINGS FOR POST WEDDING EXPENSES
Weddings nowadays could be costly. Therefore, be willing to face post-wedding financial constraints, particularly if you spend beyond means. It would be wise enough to set aside some money covering for the next three month expenses while you rejuvenate your financial capacity.
In conclusion, weddings should not be extravagant or be made so financially unattainable to the couple. You must also stick to the five tips aforementioned, and many more, for a smoother pre and post-wedding life.
Written By:
Momodou S. Fatty |CPA
Accountant and Blogger
Great article!
Thank you Sainabou
The tips you shared are very practical and easy to implememt. I particularly love the tip about honesty. Guys shoot themselves in the foot by lying about their financial strength during wedding preparations. If your spouse does not know the true state of your finances, there’s no way she will have realistic expectations going forward. Tell them the truth from the get go.
Thank you Abdou.
Thank you. I agree with you