Since marriage is a partnership where planning needs to be a team effort, it’s important to talk about finances and to start looking ahead well before your wedding day.

Your plans should include working on a household budget to balance your spending and savings needs.

There will be a lot of things to talk about.

Discussions about expenses should include:

• How much is the wedding going to cost?
• Debts either of you might have, such as student or car loans.
• Are you going to share the balance of any loans or will you each be responsible for paying your own debts?
• How will you cover regular bills, such as rent, utilities and food?
• Are you planning to have a joint checking and savings accounts or will they be separate?
• If they’re separate, who will be responsible for what bills each month?

Saving should also be part of your planning.

You should be considering:

• Plans for short-term savings, like for a vacation or furniture.
• A separate emergency savings for unexpected expenses such as a major car repair.
• And it’s never too early to start planning for retirement – such as putting money in a work 401(k) or an IRA.

You’ll also need to learn what you need to do when it comes to combining checking or savings accounts and naming beneficiaries.

We want you to know that we’re here to help with all of your financial needs. Stop in to talk with us about your plans and we’ll help you find the accounts that will best meet your goals.