Building a life in a metropolitan city with your partner feels like a dream come true. However, this dream can become overwhelming in reality if you and your soulmate don’t keep your finances in check. Alongside a higher standard of living and an increase in opportunities, the big cities also raise your daily expenses and make a huge dent in your pocket.
However, things don’t need to be all bad if you both can communicate your needs and wants well, and adopt the right approach to balance your finances with the glamorous lifestyle of the metros.
Subscriptions
In this world of content consumption, subscriptions of music platforms, OTT services, news websites, etc have become a need rather than a want. However, you can keep a tab on these subscriptions in order to limit your spending. You can opt for family plans for these services or even choose to let the unnecessary ones go to cut down your expenses.
Joint Finances
Now that you have chosen a person to share your life with, it is important to also share your financial gains. Both of you should maintain a joint account. This will not only increase your financial transparency but also increase the trust in your relationship. You can keep an individual account if you want, however, it is important to maintain honesty about the same with your partner.
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Debt
Try to limit your debt as much as possible. A credit card might provide you easy access to credit, but it is still debt at the end of the day. So use it wisely. Also, financial liabilities should be shared between a couple and instead of one person feeling the brunt of dues, both can together pay off their debt to make the process a smooth one.
Liquid assets
In addition to building your savings via mutual funds, stocks, gold, real estate, etc, it is equally important to develop a liquid pool of money for your family to depend on if needed. Your joint account can be the avenue for both of you to pool in a certain amount of your incomes, in addition to the investments, to increase your liquidity. This money can be utilised towards emergency purposes or even towards big expenses such as travel or weddings.
Financial Education
It is crucial to educate yourself about your investments, saving plans, and the ways of the financial world. While you can hire a professional to sort out your finances, it is important to not trust anyone blindly and make well-informed decisions about your money. There are multiple free sources on the internet to educate yourself, along with paid masterclasses which you can take with your partner to better understand your financial goals and needs. This can also be an activity to share with your loved one and build a future together.
Budget
Budgeting is a skill that can never be overstated. You can use apps available in the market to build a budget for you and your partner, or go the old school route and use a diary to plan out your needs and expenses. Fix the budget every fiscal year and encourage each other to stick to it.
While this planning is needed to help make home management easy for any couple, it is also important to have fun in the process. Communicate with each other what your financial goals are and treat the issue as a team. This will not only strengthen your bank balance, but also your relationship in the long run.