Congratulations on taking the leap of faith and deciding to get married. While marriage symbolises the beginning of a beautiful journey with your lifelong partner, it also marks the start of a new stage in your life – one where you can no longer think about just yourself. From now on, for every decision you make and every action you take, you have to consider the implications on the two of you.

 

You will find yourself looking forward to all the spontaneity and excitement that comes with being newly-weds. At the same time however, you should strive to start off on the right foot by making good financial plans for your lives ahead.

 

To build a healthy, happy and enriching marriage, you will need to have honest conversations about your financial standings and commitments, as well as openly share your aspirations and goals as a couple. This will enable you to make more prudent decisions that will safeguard your futures together.

Many couples dream of a perfect wedding and a luxurious honeymoon as they believe these things to be once-in-a-lifetime moments that they simply cannot miss out on. While planning for these can be exciting, it is also easy to lose track of expenses as your plans spiral out of control. As a young couple, you don't want to start your life together on the wrong note by racking up unsustainable debt.

 

By setting a budget you are both comfortable with, and being thoughtful and creative at the planning stage, you can still have a beautiful wedding and an unforgettable honeymoon.

 

You can also apply this to all aspects in your life after your wedding. Setting monthly budgets for fixed financial commitments such as your home loan, utilities, food, transport and other items, will allow you to get a good understanding of much you can afford to save and how much you can set aside for discretionary spending for the little luxuries we live life for.

Many Singaporean couples opt to buy Built-To-Order (BTO) flats to live in after they get married. These homes, which usually take three to four years to be delivered, may entice couples to make a purchase based on projections of their future incomes. Aiming to purchase a BTO flat that you can afford today is always the best way to make this decision, as guesswork on your future income increments may not materialise.

 

Besides budgeting for a home you can comfortably afford, you need to ensure that your home is well protected. You can do this by taking up necessary home insurance that will protect your home and its contents, renovations and building against unforeseen circumstances such as fire, theft or flood damages. If you are an owner of a HDB flat who is paying your monthly housing loan instalments using your CPF savings, the good news is, your home is insured under the Home Protection Scheme (HPS)¹. And if you own a private residential property, insurance plans such as the AIA Mortgage Reducing Term Assurance will help to pay off your remaining housing loans should anything happen to you. This ensures that your spouse will not be burdened with the housing loan.

After getting married, couples typically tend to take on greater financial commitments such as buying a home and starting a family. Differing views on how to manage your finances at this stage can put a strain on your relationship. To avoid this, it is critical that you and your spouse discuss and put together a long-term plan for your finances as a couple.

  

The AIA Your Wealth Matters Survey found that men are more inclined to invest while women are more inclined to save. In case you are wondering which one is a better approach, both are actually equally important. You and spouse should therefore set aside a portion of your combined income towards both savings and investments. It is also essential to establish a well-diversified investment portfolio with an asset mix that reflects the risk appetite, needs and circumstances that you and your spouse have agreed upon.

 

By planning your finances as such, you are building a nest egg that will support your financial commitments, and enable you and your spouse to enjoy your golden years together later.  

Sharing your life with another person will take more than just love. You need to understand each other's good and bad financial habits and help one another achieve your shared financial goals. To do this, couples should make financial plans a priority and start working on it as early as possible.