3 Financial Steps to Take When Married

There are several important financial steps to take when married.

Starting your life with someone comes with great joy and even greater responsibility. For some it’s undoubtedly the beginning of a joint legacy, for others it’s the start of the next generation.

Regardless of what it is to you, here are the things to do at the beginning of marriage to set yourself up for financial success.

Here are three financial steps to take when married.

Get Life Insurance

Marriage is a great time to start looking into life insurance as it can provide you with some protection as you combine your life with one another.

Many couples today are choosing to get married later than those who came before us. The average person in the United States gets married at 28 making it that much more important to get a head start on acquiring life insurance.

When it comes to life insurance the earlier you get it, the less inexpensive it is.

Why is Life Insurance Important?

Getting life insurance early can provide a good foundation and take the stress and worry away from future financial burdens.

It can help protect your family in the event of a death from debt collectors and can help provide your family with what’s needed for funeral and living expenses such as the mortgage, car loan, and student loan debt. This is also important because not all, but some debt can be passed on to your family members.

Open a joint account

This may sound like a no-brainer, but more and more couples are deciding to bank separately and do their finances separately. If that works for you then, by all means, do you, but for our family, it was important that we were united in our finances.

It has helped us work as a team, create shared goals, and accomplish them together. We have taken on one another’s debt as our own and have established a teamwork mentality when it comes to managing our money.

A few benefits of having a joint account include the following:

Each spouse has access when needed
It encourages financial unity
Spouses are protected from legal constraints and retain access to accounts in the event of a death
It’s easier to manage everything from one account creating fewer surprises and easier monitoring of account activities and spending

Even if you decide to keep your finances separate it is still a good idea to open a joint bank account where money is transferred in and out to handle common bills and necessary purchases.

Compare cost-sharing expenses

One of the benefits of being married is that you can save more money! Combining your expenses, policies, and plans can result in instant and long-term reductions in cost.

Here are some expenses you can combine to save more money:

Car insurance
Phone plan
Health insurance
Home insurance
Renters insurance
Medical Insurance

Contact each of the companies you hold these policies or expenses with and ask them about any specials they have for combining expenses.

Be sure to also shop around for better rates. Compare what each has to offer and decide what is best for your family.

Getting your financial house in order will help you in the long run. Transitioning into a unit can be one of the most challenging times of your life. Working together to make the most of your finances can help you in other aspects of your life and marriage.

I’d love to hear from you! Share your list of financial steps to take when married.