Getting married, joining a civil partnership or simply cohabiting, most of us find a partner in life sooner or later.
The fact remains that living your lives together will have a lasting impact on your financial arrangements.
At Continuum we are looking at what your new financial priorities will be.
One – look at your budget
It is probably not quite true that two can live as cheaply as one. However, having a single home rather than two will certainly reduce the costs considerably. Sharing the rent is easy enough, and many people will expect to share all the bills, from council tax to Netflix, by splitting them down the middle.
This will make finances much easier for you both of course, but it can be the cause of friction if one of you earns much more than the other. It can be a wise move to discuss how exactly the bills will be shared.
Two – think about a joint account
Coming hot on the heels of agreeing a budget comes getting a joint account for all the household bills. With this set up, both of you pay into this account each month.
You need to decide whether you want that joint account to be the home for all your finances, with everything going into, and coming out of, that one same pot – or whether you’d like to keep some independence. You could have a joint account for the shared outgoings and keep your individual personal accounts for everything else. This gives you both control over your own money and ensures each of you can make purchases without having to be accountable to the other.
Three – start saving together
If you are planning a future together, you’ll need to give some thought to putting money aside. You may want to buy a home and think about the costs of children in the future.
There are plenty of ways to save, but as a couple, you will need to find a way of aligning your individual attitudes to spending and saving. If one of you loves to shop and the other loves to keep money back, it will cause friction. Agreeing to save regularly with a monthly standing order will help stop sparks flying – and you could make your monthly contribution even more effective by looking at investing, rather than simply saving.
Four – think about protection
None of us know what the future holds and having a partner means taking responsibility for them. Life insurance, insurance protection against illness or accident, protection against unemployment could all be important safeguards for the years to come.
You may feel that it is all too early for that – but the sooner you arrange that kind of protection, the less it can cost.
Five – get some help from a Continuum expert
Money management is easier with an expert, and if you are becoming a couple, it is probably time to sit down with a Continuum expert to ensure you have the arrangements that are right for you both.
We can help you budget, find the accounts that are suitable for you, start saving or investing – and cut the cost of the insurance protection you need.
There could be some tax and other benefits to take advantage of, and with new, shared objectives, you may need some new financial strategies to follow. At Continuum we can help with the solutions you need now – and in the future.
Simply call us on 0345 643 0770, email us at [email protected] or click on the ‘Contact Us’ link below.
The information contained in this article is based on the opinion of Continuum and does not constitute financial advice or a recommendation to suitable Protection products or investment strategy, you should seek independent financial advice before embarking on any course of action.
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