How investing in Mutual Funds can be a solid foundation for married life.

Time to read: 6 mins | April 25, 2018

After the initial euphoria of the wedding starts the day to day task of managing the household. Which means that you need to divide tasks and responsibilities, financial and otherwise, between you and your spouse.

One way to approach it is to negotiate your boundaries as the situation demands. A better way is to be proactive about it and set ground rules for managing your financial responsibilities and aspirations at the outset of your marriage.

Marriage, in its truest sense, is a partnership of equals, with neither exercising dominion over the other, but, rather, with each encouraging and assisting the other in whatever responsibilities and aspirations he or she might have. – Gordon B. Hinckley.

Let’s talk about some baby steps that will help you build a great partnership with your spouse.

Generally, couples talk about all other things but their “personal financial matters”. Doesn’t it make sense to sit and discuss about each others’ salaries, expenses, assets, and debts?

For eg., if you are sending a certain amount to your parents every month, your spouse should know about it and vice versa.

It’s very important to be transparent with each other on financial matters to build trust as a couple.

Our tip: Don’t directly jump into this conversation. Set the mood right or look for the right opportunity. Be earnest and explain its importance to your spouse.

Running a household together is pretty much like a managing a startup. Recording your expenses helps you identify the unnecessary ones and cut them down. Go one step ahead and use checklists for all your upcoming purchases. Having a joint account for common household expenses like rent, electricity bills, grocery, movies, vacations, is a smart step.

Our tip: Create shared Google docs or install money management apps to track all your expenses.

The two of you are responsible to build a great future together and one of the most crucial steps is to ALIGN your personal and professional goals. As a starting point, ask some of these questions to each other.

How much to spend in doing up the house? Where do you want to go for next vacation? When to have kids? How much will your dream home cost? Do you really want to buy a new car urgently?

As you’ll realize, some of these goals are short-term and some are long term. Prioritizing it will help you to align your finances accordingly. This should be followed up by chalking out Saving goals and how much can each contribute towards it every month.

Our tip: Plans are not cast in stone and they change. Maintain a scribble board, where you both regularly input estimated budgets about your plans!

Now that you are married, it’s smart to review your insurance covers and see if it is adequate for both. A term insurance providing adequate coverage is a must-to-have for couples.

Our tip: Check if your employer has benefits on health insurance for family, and opt for family floater policies, which cover parents as well.

As partners, its important to make constant efforts to add value to the relationship as well as your wealth. Investing in the right tools like Mutual Funds helps in wealth creation. Depending upon your risk assessment, one of you can go for investment in higher-risk instruments like equities while the other can opt for low-risk debt funds. Make sure you cover the risks of emergencies like illness or loss of job by allotting some fund to it.

Our tip: Use financial calculators to determine the investment amount if you are planning to invest in systematic investment plans.

Agreed, talking about financial matter doesn’t sound like fun. However, the earlier you have these conversations, the better. Making budgets allows a couple to accomplish their life goals. And it’s liberating as well!

Disclaimer: This article has been authored by Dialogbox, a Mumbai based Content Design firm known for offering unbiased and honest opinion on investing. Axis Bank doesn't influence any views of the author in any way. Axis Bank & Dialogbox shall not be responsible for any direct / indirect loss or liability incurred by the reader for taking any financial decisions based on the contents and information. Please consult your financial advisor before making any financial decision.