Marriage is an exciting time for plenty of reasons: you have your wedding, honeymoon, and a chance to take your relationship to the next level. If you haven’t started already, it’s also a great time to begin investing towards your financial future together.
With that in mind, here are some smart ways to successfully tie your finances and marriage:
Create an emergency fund
Many couples get excited and start planning financially for big-picture goals around this time. While that’s all well and good, you shouldn’t forget to build an emergency fund first. Having 6-8 months of basic living expenses saved up will allow you to successfully invest for the long-term, despite any unexpected costs or emergencies that pop up.
Align your retirement goals
Retirement is probably one of the last things on your mind when you’re just starting marriage. However, to avoid playing retirement catch-up, you’ll need to align your retirement finances and marriage goals. For instance, even if you both have an investment portfolio, you’ll need to decide when you want to retire together, and what changes are needed to accomplish that.
Increase your retirement contributions
If you’re more financially secure in marriage, it’s a great time to find wiggle room in your budget and increase your contributions towards retirement. Your 401(k), for instance, allows contributions of $18,000 per year if you’re under age 50.
Want to learn more?
At LexION Capital, we happily assist clients as their finances and marriage status change. Our individual investment process allows us to customize your portfolio to meet your changing goals and needs. If you’d like to learn more, don’t hesitate to reach out to us today.
