Congratulations – you’re engaged! You’re marrying your best friend and you can’t be more excited. You nailed down the venue, purchased the rings, invited all your family and friends, wrote your vows, and have the wedding party solidified. All the hard stuff is done, but the important stuff still needs to be completed: getting your financial lives in sync. Here are a few tips to get started if you want to live a lifetime of happiness.
1. Discuss all the key financial information with your partner. Provide each other with key account information like your savings, checking, investment, and even mortgage accounts. In addition, don’t forget your insurance information! On the flip side, provide the location of non-financial information like birth certificates, social security cards, safe deposit keys, etc.
2. Create an emergency savings fund. Hopefully nothing happens to you, but in the off chance that it does you’ll have an account to help you out. Make sure you have at least six months of income saved that can help you if something unexpected comes up. If six months isn’t doable, save what you can!
3. Consider life insurance. If you work, you may have the opportunity to get life insurance through your job – which is a nice benefit. It’s often one or two times your salary, but it won’t follow you through life. Therefore it makes sense to purchase an individual policy. It’s not terribly expensive (a healthy 30-year-old typically pays around $13 a month for a 20-year, $250,000, level-term policy) and you’ll continue to be covered as long as you pay the premium. For an estimate of how much life insurance you need, give us a call and we’ll happily assist.
4. Give an insurance agent a call. Now that you’re engaged, it’s time to get friendly with your insurance agent. People don’t realize this, but it’s typically free to sit down and talk about your needs – again free of charge. If you don’t have time to come in a talk, give us a ring and we’ll answer any questions you have about your engagement, your future, and what insurance policies you can purchase.
5. Buy insurance on your ring. Putting insurance on your rings may seem unromantic, but there is nothing better than peace of mind. In order to insure your rings, you’ll need to provide the receipts and possibly an appraisal on the ring from a certified gemologist. No matter the value of the ring, having it insured will cover anything from theft and damage to accidentally dropping it in the garbage disposal.
Now that you’re about to marry your best friend, these few tips can provide you a simple direction for how to better plan your finances and insurance policies.