Planning Strategies for Smart Money Management
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There is no better time than now that you are planning to be married to begin planning strategies for smart money management. Personal financial planning is the foundation for reaching your goals and achieving financial harmony in your marriage. Here are some tips to get you started.

1. Make time to talk about money.
Your relationship as a husband and wife will not only be an emotional partnership, but also financial one. There is no better time now to begin open, frank discussions about money. It is important for you to share your opinions about such issues as spending, investing, and borrowing. Building a strong financial future must be a joint effort between the two of you and will, like many other factors in your relationship, require compromise and adjustment. A healthy marriage requires a rethinking process. It's not longer "my money" and "your money," but "our money."

2. Get official records in order.
Important documents such as social security card, insurance policies, deeds, vehicle title and registration and driver's license should be changed to your married name (assuming that the bride is taking her husband's last name). Draft or revise your wills. It is essential as part of your financial package to make certain that whichever of you die first, as a couple, in your lifetime, you have made every effort to secure the financial future and reduce the taxes of the surviving spouse. Changes in your family status should be reflected by updating your wills.

3. Start saving early . . . now for later.
It's never too soon to begin to accumulate wealth for the future, even as far into the future as retirement. In order to achieve substantial growth over time, savings must begin early in your marriage. The key to good savings is a good plan, one that is "automated." Whatever sum it is with which you are comfortable, make deductions automatically from your paycheck or checking account and put that money into a money-market or mutual fund or other investment which you have researched carefully. Without doubt, making savings into a "no-brainer" is the best and simplest way to ensure that you will always be saving. Every seven years you delay starting a savings plan, cuts your net worth at retirement in half.

In all likelihood, Social Security benefits will be insufficient for your retirement years. If your employer has a retirement and/or pension plan, participate. Ask your employer, human resources' department at work and/or a financial planner what monies can be set aside, in the wisest ways, to ensure your retirement years. Shop for a bank, or reevaluate the one(s) you are with presently. Ask about the services which are offered, interest rates and fees. The difference in fees between one bank and another can vary, as can charges for checks, ATM fees, fees for balances that fall below a "minimum," and others. The amounts in and of themselves may seem small, but in total, there can be some significant savings by making an educated choice.

4. Learn to become money wise.
Ultimately, the two of you will be responsible for a substantial part of your money management. You can, of course, hire professional money manager, but even if you do, it's important for you to know at least basic terminology. That's not as difficult as it may sound, because there are excellent resources available. Read the money and business sections of your newspaper. Consider subscribing to what personal finance magazine, or even taking a course (together of course) at local community college or university. Let's also not forget the tremendous resources available on the Internet.

5. Set up a financial division of labor.
There are basic money management issues in every family and it's up to you to decide who will be responsible for what. Some of the tasks are balancing checkbook, paying bills, monitoring investments, making deposit and withdrawals and keeping track of your overall money situation. Even though these tasks will be divided (or not), it's important for both of you to be aware and know how to perform all of these roles. One way to do this is to set up semiannual, quarterly or monthly meetings, where the two of you review your financial situation. By establishing who will be in charge of which financial obligations, there's less chance of unrecorded checks or costly overdrafts.

6. Establish financial goals with which both of you are comfortable.
Divide your goals into short-term and long-term. Set reasonable parameters and establish priorities which meet both of your philosophies. Make certain to include and prepare for the unexpected. This includes not only accumulating money just for emergencies (disability, illness, job loss, care of elderly parent), but also for pleasant future events, such as having a child or buying a home. Financial advisers suggest that you keep half a month's income in a checking account and another three months' pay in a bond fund or money market fund, in which you are earning interest. Keep in mind that financial planning for major purchases (e.g., home, car) cannot wait until such purchases are imminent, or you will never have the accumulated monies that are necessary.

7. Work as a team and set up a household budget and keep track of your expenses and of where your money is going. Make joint decisions about how your money will be spent and stick to it. Reevaluate your budget allotments on a regular basis to make sure that the two of you are still in sync and still staying within the spending parameters you have set for your family. Keep in mind that having a budget gives you more independence, not less. If the two of you allocate your incomes into delegated funds, you will eliminate the need to debate about how every penny is spent. Arguing about money and how it will be spent is a major contributing factor in couples' disharmony. Be mindful of credit and borrowing. Using credit cards casually makes it too easy to lose track of "small" money, which can add up to big, unexpected expenses. If it all possible, keep credit purchases to a minimum and whatever purchases you make, attempt a serious effort to pay off your debt at the end of each month. Credit cards finance charges can be deadly. When it comes to major purchases, use the status quo rule. Unless you both agree to an expenditure, the status quo rules and the expenditure is not made.

8. Make saving a priority item in allocating your budget and "pay" your savings account first. If you can, set up an automatic transfer of funds from your checking account into an investment account. In that way, savings will remain a priority and you will be pleased to see that your money will "make" more money. Take into consideration what purchases you need, as apposed to what expenditures you want. Wealth is accumulated by what you save, not what you spend.

9. If your budget allows, make room in it for each of you to have some personal, even frivolous spending. Let this piece of your budget be a part that requires no okay from the other partner, and stands "outside" the budget. This will help to eliminate unnecessary arguing over little things.

10. Make every effort, if you have it, to reduce debt.
Whether just one or both of you have brought debt into your marriage or have a large credit card balance, individually or together, work on a solution and create a plausible, workable plan for reducing that debt. Try cutting luxury items from your budget and tighten your belts significantly until you have managed to pay down your debt significantly. In some cases it may be wise to consolidate your credit card balances onto the one card with the lowest interest rate. Don't let your marriage become part of the statistic "‘til debts do us part." If you find yourself in trouble, there are consumer credit counseling services which provide assistance at no charge.

11. Evaluate, update and, where necessary, purchase insurance.
It's critical for you to review your life, medical, disability and property insurance on a regular basis. Your insurance agent can be a valuable resource for evaluating what, if any, changes need to be made. Make certain that you're not duplicating insurance coverage with your employers, particularly of course, if you are paying for that insurance. Check out the advantages of the family policy versus individual coverage, and, where appropriate, make the switch. Make certain that your insurance policy's beneficiary designation is changed to reflect your new marital status. Look into the beneficiary issue with regard to your retirement and pension plans as well. Evaluate all the insurance you carry and make certain that your spending your money wisely. Insurance premiums are expensive!

12. Include tax planning in your yearly financial planning calendar.
Taxes can have a major impact on the amount of money you make and save. You need to be mindful of (paying) taxes throughout the year, not just at tax time. Monies should be set aside for taxes which will ultimately need to be paid. Take advantage of every opportunity that is available to you to use taxes to your advantage. There are many . . . from income shifting, to tax-deferred retirement plans, to a variety of IRA's and more. This may be an area in which it is financially appropriate to consult a professional, but before you do so make certain that such information is not available to you at no charge from your job's human resources manager. You may also want to check with human resources at work to get the particulars for changing your payroll withholding. The marriage penalty can result in higher joint taxes.

Money may indeed be, as the saying goes, the root of all evil, but smart strategies, open communication, plans that you set together and both follow religiously, can become a strong basis for a healthy relationship, financial and otherwise, for today and tomorrow.
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