The months and weeks following your wedding are definitely meant to be the ultimate honeymoon period of your life and hence you shouldn’t allow any types of money conflicts to come in the spoil the romantic aura. Devising a budget along with your new spouse will help you make sure that your new family’s finances are running fine as a team. Irrespective of whether you’re married, the basics of building a budget are pretty similar.

You have to plan your financial goals and also set a finite income resource. Since you add one more person into the budget, you will actually be changing your personal finance to family finance. With ample flexibility and communication, you can reduce the risk of all sorts of financial intricacies.

Speak about money more often

Way before the day of your wedding, you must have had different serious conversations about money. By now you must be familiar with your spouse’s hang-ups and hopes. It’s better to find out whether or not you’re both are sailing in the same boat. Here are few points you should discuss on:

• What was it financially when you both grew up?
• How did you manage money till now? Do you have any regrets wit money or your credit score?
• How does money make you feel?
• What are your financial goals?

Combine the finances

It is definitely a totally personal decision whether or not you want to combine your finances but if you do, there are several ways in which you can merge the funds. Although both of you may have separate accounts, it is wise enough to keep one shared account for few expenses like utilities, rent or other car payments. Who is paying for what? This is a question that should be done away with after marriage. Hence, you have to ensure that you have enough money in your budget so that you can do these things on your own.

Decide your priorities

If you’re someone who has had enough experience with budgeting, you would most probably know the importance of retirement saving, repaying high interest debt and having an emergency fund. Let’s take a look at the main financial priorities of a newlywed.

• Retirement saving should definitely be the best possible thing to keep in mind while managing family finances. Don’t forget to reap benefits of an employer match.
• Handle toxic debt like payday loans, credit cards and title loans. Make sure you pay all these loans from your shared account and don’t blame anyone for amassing debt. However, try your best to eliminate as much as debt is possible.
• Build an emergency fund so that you can fall back on the emergency cushion in case you meet with some sudden expenses.

So, whenever you’re concerned about taking care of your family finances, take into account the above mentioned factors. Budgeting for newlyweds is definitely a thing of concern but you should try your best to live up to the expectations of your family needs.