To help you cover your bases, here are some key financial topics you and your partner should discuss prior to marriage.
Whether you've been open about money during your entire relationship leading up to marriage or have unknowingly pushed the topic off, it's important to have a serious and intentional discussion about finances before you both say 'I do. '
After the engagement, wedding, and honeymoon, you are now ready to start your life together. A general rule of thumb is to have roughly the equivalent of your annual salary in savings when you enter into a marriage. For example, if your yearly salary is S$84,000, you should have S$84,000 saved.
Get yourself situated with a solid emergency savings now so you don't have to worry later. My recommendation is to save up six to nine months of expenses. It may seem like a lot, but you'll be thankful you took the time to build up a safety net before diving into an engagement and, ultimately, marriage.
Having money in marriage helps to make marriage more enjoyable. The things money can buy will reduce the pressure couples feel. This will enable all parties to focus on building the relationship even more in an atmosphere of love and affection.
According to their research, majority of couples are having the marriage conversation way ahead of the engagement. The survey found that 94% of couples discuss getting engaged in the six months before actually doing so. A full 30% of those talk engagement and marriage at least once a week.
Financial planning before marriage may help surface and resolve some of the issues that could cause disagreements in the first place. Financial literacy and advance planning is necessary for most couples, not just those with significant income and/or assets.
Marriage is society's least restrictive means of ensuring the well-being of children. Government recognition of marriage protects children by incentivizing men and women to commit to each other and take responsibility for their children. Fathers matter, and marriage helps to connect fathers to mothers and children.
Couples can manage their money with separate accounts, a joint account, or some combination of the two. Separate accounts help avoid arguments but take more planning, and you may lose out on the best way to manage your family money.
“The ideal age to get married, with the least likelihood of divorce in the first five years, is 28 to 32,” says Carrie Krawiec, a marriage and family therapist at Birmingham Maple Clinic in Troy, Michigan. “Called the 'Goldilocks theory,' the idea is that people at this age are not too old and not too young.”
But when it comes to the best age for men to recite their vows, Cullins says it's 32. “Waiting until age 32 affords men an opportunity to get settled into a career and potentially pursue professional advancement before tying the knot,” says Cullins.
Traditionally, the groom and his family are responsible for financing the honeymoon, but these days -- especially with people marrying later in life -- the task often falls to the groom himself (or to the couple). Your friend may be able to contribute a portion of the trip, but she is in no way obligated to do so.
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