Newly married and starting a life together. It's an exciting and exhilarating time but do not forget to find the time to plan for the financial partnership that getting married will bring.
How do you plan to conduct your financial affairs?
Will you have separate bank accounts?
Do you plan to invest, together or separately?
How will you handle buying a home or making other large purchases?
Will you have your own credit card accounts?
These are all matters that must be discussed and decided upon because, if not, they will almost certainly create disagreements in the future.
Open communication and shared goals can go a long way towards creating the foundation needed to live happily ever after.
Insurance
Now is a good time to examine your insurance plans and requirements.
Consider some of the following areas:
Health Insurance
Will you join your spouse's medical aid scheme or remain on your own? If you or your spouse must change schemes, is the cover complete, or are there gaps to fill? Do your current medical plans provide cover for pregnancy and dread diseases? Find out more...
Disability and Lifestyle Protection
Should one or both partners become permanently or temporarily disabled and unable to work, is there a plan in place to protect and maintain the lifestyle you want?
Statistics show young people face a disproportionately high chance of being involved in an accident and being unable to work as a result of temporary or permanent disablement. Should this happen the impact will not be on you alone but also on your spouse and also on your children, if you have any.
In the event of such an incident will you:
- Be in a position to cover your medical expenses?
- Be covered completely by your medical aid scheme or need to meet a shortfall from your own pocket?
- Be able to continue your car repayments?
- Be in a position to make a your mortgage payments?
- Be able to continue living where you currently stay?
- Manage to meet monthly contracts and accounts for example your cellphone contract?
- Be able to maintain your current lifestyle and standard of living?
Some other important facts you need to establish:
- What benefits does your company offer?
- How long will they last?
- Will they completely protect your lifestyle and, if not, what is the shortfall?
- Loss of Income
- Illness Protection
Life insurance
The death of a spouse can be financially devastating for a family. Without proper planning and provision a surviving spouse and children could lose the home in which they live and be forced to dramatically down-scale their lifestyle.
It is not only the life of the main bread-winner that should be covered. A spouse who stays at home to take care of the family, in effect, makes a substantial contribution. If he/she were removed, there could be substantial, adverse implications for the surviving family and spouse.
Now is a good time to look at your life insurance portfolio as, in most cases, the younger you are, the less it will cost you. Find out more...
Retirement.
Start providing for your retirement now. No matter how old or young you are, now is the best time to start investing for your retirement.
Consider supplementing your employer’s pension plan with a retirement annuity of your own. The fact is, proper retirement planning could be the difference between being able to retire and having to work in your old age.
No matter what stage of your life you find yourself, it is vital that you have an up-to-date financial plan and a properly-constructed budget.
What is a financial plan?
Your financial plan and budget needs to be reviewed regularly as it will need to be adjusted as your circumstances and lifestyles change.
A good financial plan will take into account a number of complex income tax and legal issues and it a good idea to consult a qualified financial adviser when drawing one up.
Click here to get a Liberty Financial Adviser.
Saving for emergencies
Life, and particularly married life, has a way of throwing up little emergencies that can sometimes be costly. An unexpected vehicle repair or the need to purchase a new household appliance, for example. It is important that, each month, you put aside an amount so that cash is available to cover unexpected expenses.
Saving for other goals
You and your spouse will also have individual and joint goals, for example, saving for overseas trips, purchasing luxury items or maybe even a holiday home or pursuing a hobby. There are a number of short and medium-term investment products offered by Liberty Life that can help you attain realise your dreams.
Click here for more details.
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