Financial Advice for the Bride and Groom
Top Five Financial Matters
You Need to Take Care of Before the Wedding

Who wants to think about financial advice when planning a wedding? After all, everyone creates a “To Do” list of things to be done before The Big Day.

You’re too busy creating the guest list and seating arrangements. You’re making sure the ushers and brides maids get their outfits tailored. Menus, flowers, bands…Whew!

But amidst the excitement, many couples neglect getting their finances in order. And if not corrected, these financial matters can become a wedge between the two of you.

Here are five items you need to put on your “To Do” list of financial advice and take care of before getting married:

• Get a Job! – It’s wonderful that the two of you can’t wait to start your lives together. But with all due respect to Captain and Tennille (boy am I aging myself), love will not keep you together.

  I hate to be the voice of logic, but you can’t live on love. You need money. And unless your last name is Rockefeller, you need an income coming in. Get settled into whatever career path you’ve chosen. It’s not necessary to “make partner” or have the corner office yet. But when it comes to financial advice, you should be able to support yourself in order for the marriage to have a stable foundation.




• Make a Budget – OK, so you’re working and you have a steady income. Are you spending it all? Now is the time to create responsible financial habits.

  Create a budget and ensure that your expenses are considerably less than your net income (your “take-home pay”). This one point of financial advice is probably more important than any other I could give. Even if you’re earning a million dollars a year (from my mouth to God’s ears), if you’re spending a million and a half, you’re on your way towards financial ruin.

  Don’t think it could happen?

  I once had a client who was an up and coming plastic surgeon. He was young, good looking, single and earning almost a half million dollars a year. He had no student loans, no car payments (he lived in New York City), no family to support…just his rent and monthly credit card expenses. Yet, after years of earnings, his total savings was less than $10,000. He was making almost five hundred thousand dollars a year! What was he blowing his money on?!? (Or should I say, who and how many?)

  This chap had a promising future until his accident. He was severely injured and lost the use of his right hand for a number of months. This hiatus to his career turned out to be a blessing in disguise. He realized that life is unpredictable and vowed to change his financial habits. Last I heard from him, he had a fruitful practice, owned his home and had an impressive investment portfolio.

  (Coming Soon…An entire financial advice section devoted to getting yourself on a budget without sacrificing “living.”)




• Get Out of Debt – Do you have student loan balances? A car loan? Maybe you’ve accumulated credit card debt from four years of college parties and impulse shopping. (Well someone had to buy the keg, right?)

  Once you have a steady income, have created a budget, and are living below your means, devote a good chunk of your excess monthly income towards paying down your debt. Don’t procrastinate. Do It Now!

  As the years pass, your debt balances will grow due to compound interest. Your expenses will increase (can you say “children?”) and you will find it harder and harder to get in front of your debt. Right now, your income to expense ratio is as low as it may ever be. Take advantage of it and pay down your debt.




• Fix Your Credit – Do you have a history of late payments? Do you have any judgments or collection accounts outstanding? What are your credit scores? Don’t know? Make sure you follow this very important piece of financial advice - Find out!

  Go to www.AnnualCreditReport.com or www.MyFico.com (opens new window) and request your free report. Just make sure you use a website directly affiliated with one of the three major credit repositories (Experian, Trans Union and Equifax).

  There are countless other companies offering you a copy of your credit report. But don’t use them! Many will provide your report and use your personal information for marketing purposes.

  Find out what’s on your credit report, fix any errors, pay off any collection accounts and judgments, and then pay down your balances. And for heaven’s sake, from now on, make sure you make your payments on time!

  (Coming Soon…An entire section devoted to Credit. You’ll learn how to read your report, what your scores mean, how to fix your credit and more! You’ll find pages and pages to answer virtually every credit question you can think of.)




• Start an IRA and/or 401k Retirement Account – You’ve used your excess income to start paying down your debt. Congratulations! I’m proud of you. Now you need to take some of that excess income and start planning for your retirement. “You’re still young,” you say? “Why worry about retirement now?”

  You are never too young to start saving for your retirement. (And take my word for it – as you get older, the years go by so quickly. Sigh.) The more years you have to save for your retirement, the more time your investment has to earn, grow and compound. That’s the beauty of compound interest.

  Most people don’t realize this: If you saved only $1,000 per year from age 20 to age 30, then never a penny more, that investment would grow into a larger balance than if you started saving $1,000 per year at age 45 and continued saving until you reached 65 years of age!

  Start investing money now into an IRA, 401k, or even both! Save consistently and automatically. Set up the account so that the money comes directly out of your paycheck every pay period or checking account every month. Then let it grow and never withdraw it. In 40 years, you’ll be so glad you did. (And I hope I’m still around to thank!)

  (Coming Soon…An entire section devoted to Investing. You’ll learn all about IRAs, 401ks, stocks, bonds, mutual funds and much more!)







Return to Preparing For Marriage from Financial Advice

Go to Home Page from Financial Advice.