Money savings plan ahead of the wedding

Wedding season is approaching, beware of these financial mistakes

You’ve probably imagined what your wedding day will be like, and more importantly, you probably already have an idea of the kind of marriage you would like to have one day, right?

Both of these things are important and requires a lot from two people. A simple mistake early on in the relationship can cause great stress – something everyone would rather avoid. That’s why we’ve put together our top 5 mistakes to avoid ahead of your big day. Considering these will help to alleviate conflict later on in your marriage and help you to create a money savings plan together.

1. Not having a long-term financial plan

It’s important that you have a long-term financial plan before getting married. Your long-term plan should include your goals for retirement, home ownership and starting a family. Sit down and talk about these things before you get married.

Having the same goals as your partner is important, whether they involve your careers, family or finances. To achieve those goals and live in harmony, it helps to be on the same track, working together toward the same things. Because MyWORLD is made to share, you can use it to create up to five unique Pocket accounts to share and save for those goals, while enjoying SA’s lowest banking fees.

2. Not talking about finances

Another common newlywed mistake is walking into your marriage blind. This means that you never had a discussion about your financial goals, your income, or your debt. 

Talking about money can be difficult to do in relationships, but once you have had the money conversation, managing finances together becomes easier to do. So, the first step is to have an honest and open talk about your financial history, your relationship with money, your current financial standing and your financial goals.

Next, plan how you want to handle your joint finances. If you’re considering merging finances or doing your savings account comparisons, African Bank’s MyWORLD bank account is worth looking into.

3. Not tracking your spending and savings

It’s nice to sometimes go out to do new, fun and exciting things with your partner, but this can be costly too. As you track your spending, keep in mind that the most important part of your relationship is that you’re spending quality time together. You don’t have to spend a lot of money for that to be enjoyable and meaningful.

As the months and years pass by, don’t forget to keep track of your savings and investments. Are you closer to achieving your goals? Sometimes you’ve got to make changes so that you can save better. Making sacrifices and staying the course together can make your relationship stronger and improve your financial position at the same time.

4. Planning a honeymoon on credit

You do not want to start your life together by creating a lot of debt. This means that you need to pay cash for your wedding and honeymoon. Although this may mean cutting back on some of the things you want, it will be worth it to not have the payments hanging around for months or years after you are married.

By shopping for deals and planning ahead, you should still be able to create a beautiful wedding on your budget. You can also find great deals on honeymoon trips if you plan ahead. 

5. Not working as a team

In a way, getting married means you're now a team. This applies to your finances, as well. Avoid overspending, hiding spending from your partner, or not working toward your shared financial goals. 

While one person may handle the daily finances and paying the bills, both of you should be budgeting together and finding easy ways to save money – together! Both of you should track your spending and keep a close eye on your savings and investment accounts, as well as find the best savings investment accounts that can benefit you both.