Okay…so you just married the guy/girl of your dreams, you both get home coming down from the honeymoon high of expensive meals, amazing destinations, and crazy good sex (hopefully if one of those expensive meals didn’t happen to give you severe diarrhea so you had to spend the first few days of married life painting toilets together…like we did) and then it all comes crashing down… you are now a family and you should take care of one another, physically, emotionally and financially. Finance is an extremely important topic, one that you and your SO should definitely be on the same page about.
Many couples get married without ever discussing anything closely related to money and this could cause a massive fight down the road. Many divorces are due to financial issues and stress related to the matter, which could honestly have been avoided through proper planning. We are not blogging to be nice…we want to help you succeed, so don’t just read these tips get off your ass and apply what you have read, intention is nothing without action.
Here are our top tips for staying ahead of the ever lurking divorce lawyers:
1-Budgeting
It might sound simple, but surprisingly few people have any idea of the amount of money they waste on a month-to-month basis on literal crap (yeah that as seen on tv doohickey did not change your life did it?). Sit down at least once a month to go through your combined income, and expenses. We recommend an app like Money lover (https://moneylover.me/), 22 seven (https://www.22seven.com/app/login), or even just a good old excel spreadsheet to track monthly rent, groceries, utilities, transport, entertainment, etc. By tracking this we were able to cut down our grocery bill by almost 60 %.
Most of our finances are littered with auto payments and overcharged subscriptions that we never use. Systematically go through your bank statements and religiously look at your subscriptions. Is there anything that you are paying monthly that you have not used in the last three months? (I’m looking at you gym contract). The next step is to get better rates for the things you have to pay. Downgrade your account to the absolute barebones account that still allows the essentials like unlimited free EFT’s and till swipes, cancel any unnecessary benefits that only cost you money each month (every rand makes a difference) and nobody needs to pay R200 more a month for a team of private bankers, WTF even is that, they never answer the phone anyway. Call around insurance brokers to get a lower rate with the same benefits. Also, try to get a joint account for a slightly reduced charge. When you can become a master of budgeting, you are on the road to being in control of your finances instead of the other way around and this makes room for the next step, saving and investing.
2-Saving and investing
Both of us were good at saving, but we had no clue what a wonderous world of possibilities there were. We both stuck to a good old “access with 32 days notice” account without realizing we were basically skimming just above inflation and….well wasting our time. If you have little to no debt, we recommend saving three to six months worth of expenses (you know this cause you listened to us during Step 1 and know your monthly spend to the cent) in a relatively low (to medium) risk account like a money market account (generally pays a higher interest and is easily accessible). Once you have your backup stash acting as a safety net in the background don’t panic and withdraw it once the new PlayStation hits the shelves (do your research and/or talk to a financial adviser about your options) this is for emergencies only! Pay your future self first and spend what is left, not the other way around. After this, you can start with the big guns, try educating yourselves about investing, and start looking for the long term, high risk (aggressive) ETF’s on a platform like EasyEquites (https://bit.ly/396k919). Next make sure to max out your tax-free savings account each year and take advantage of tax shortcuts like contributions to a medical aid, business kilometers, and contributions to a retirement annuity. Most financial experts recommend saving at least…at friggen least 15% of your salary. Why not go even higher than this and try to retire within the next 15 years, or sooner? This is the important step, save your money and set yourself up for the future. With compound interest and good investments on your side, even with a low income, you can become a millionaire in just a few years.
3-Credit cards and debt
Do not get into debt. Take this to heart, debt will ruin your life by keeping you a slave to your bank. If you want something save for it. In general, we do not think it is a good idea to have a credit card. If you are a supernatural freaky nerd about paying the card balance each and every time you make a purchase and you know the dangers of not doing so, you can consider getting one. Don’t be fooled into building your credit score by making yourself poor. Keep yourself out of debt. It has become an ill-advised cultural norm to get a: credit card, home loan you cannot afford, and various accounts at clothing stores that charge insanely high rent, don’t be like the rest…be debt-free. This will not be easy, friends and family will make fun of you and question your motives, always remember, “if broke people are making fun of you, you are on the right track ”~Dave Ramsey.
4-Life and death and the boring things related to them
Hey Tarzan/she-hulk, you need to get your head out of your butt and be responsible for your family (wife/husband/children) by getting death and disability cover! This is very important, don’t peace out of this plane of existence and have left your SO high and dry be your last act of douchery (look it up… it is like chivalry but the opposite). You will die, but if you happen to do so a bit too early at least your husband or wife can be wiping away their tears with R100 notes at your funeral.
You guys are a team now, so manage your finances like one. If you stay out of debt, have a budget, and stick to it, save for your future and work together you will not only grow in your relationship and your wealth, you will prosper them.
Prospearatree 