Planning Your Dream Life

 

Why Planning Your Dream Life Is Just as Important as Planning Your Wedding



When it comes to planning a wedding, the excitement and anticipation often revolve around the big day. However, it's equally important to consider what comes after the wedding: your life together. That's why I'm passionate about incorporating content into my channel that helps you plan your dream life while you're planning your big day. To kick things off, I want to share some eye-opening statistics that underscore the importance of being intentional about your finances in a relationship.

Almost 50% of all marriages in the U.S. end in divorce. That’s a divorce every 13 seconds in America. Feeling that one's spouse spent money foolishly increases the likelihood of divorce by 45% for both men and women. Additionally, couples who argue about finances at least once a week are 30% more likely to get divorced. These stats highlight the critical need to be deliberate about your finances in your relationship.

Managing Finances Together

Hey there, blushing brides! Welcome back to my channel. I’m Kyle James, and today, I have a very special guest: my husband, Eric. Since finances are such a joint effort, I thought it would be perfect to have him here to help explain how we manage our finances together. Plus, he's incredibly smart and talented with money.

Thank you for having me on, Kyle.

Of course! So let's dive into what we do and how we set up our finances when we got married, and what we continue to do to keep everything fair and argument-free.

Our Financial Setup

We have a joint checking account from which all our joint expenses—housing, groceries, kids' stuff, etc.—are paid. It’s crucial to note that we use a checking account, not a credit card, to manage these expenses. This helps us stay within our budget because once the money is gone, it’s gone. No overspending like you could with a credit card.

Additionally, we each have our own separate personal accounts. This system allows us to maintain financial independence and reduces the chance of financial disagreements.

How We Budget

We sat down and decided on a joint budget for our joint account. We identified what constitutes a joint expense and how much we should allocate to each category. It’s essential to do this together since it's your joint account. We also created a minimum budget and a dream budget, then found a balance between the two based on our income.

Once the total budget is established, you’ll know your monthly joint expenses. Our budget breakdown will be available as a bonus in the Unveiled Bride Society, launching soon. I’ll share a PDF outlining our joint account expenses (without actual numbers), which can help you decide what to include in your own budget.

Joint vs. Personal Expenses

One key reason for using a joint checking account rather than a credit card is to cap your spending. By only putting a specific amount into the joint account each month, you avoid overspending and accumulating debt.

Next, determine how much each of you will contribute to the joint account monthly. This depends on your income and situation. For example, I stay at home with our kids and contribute less to the joint expenses than Eric does. We made this decision together, and it’s important that you do too.

Any money earned beyond the joint expenses goes into your personal accounts. This allows for personal spending without impacting joint finances. If I want to buy a nice bag, Eric can’t get mad, and if he wants a new gadget, it doesn’t affect me.

Tracking and Adjusting the Budget

We review our budget regularly to ensure we’re on track and to see if any adjustments are needed. We hold monthly finance meetings to go through our expenses and budgets. We use Mint to track our finances, which makes it easy to categorize expenses and see how well we’re sticking to our budget.

Our Top Three Tips for Financial Harmony

Now, Eric and I each have our top three tips for managing finances in a marriage. We haven’t shared our tips with each other, so this will be interesting!

Eric’s Tips

  1. Shared Vision: Have a shared vision for the wealth you want to create together. Whether it’s through reading books like "Rich Dad Poor Dad" or playing financial games like "Cashflow," it’s important to align your financial goals.

  2. Asset Allocation: Ensure your finances are set up so that no single financial failure can take you down. This means having savings, avoiding overspending, and creating multiple income streams.

  3. Set Aside Fun Money: Allocate funds for fun activities as a couple. This includes weekend getaways, date nights, and vacations. Investing in your relationship is just as important as investing in the stock market.

Kyle’s Tips

  1. Assign Roles: Designate someone to manage investments and savings, and another to track monthly expenses and budgets. It’s crucial to have someone responsible for these areas.

  2. Fun Budgeting: View your budget as an allowance for fun. Allocate funds for things you enjoy, like decorating or dining out, to make budgeting feel rewarding rather than restrictive.

  3. Start Using Mint: Begin using Mint and hold finance meetings immediately. Transparency and regular reviews are key to staying on track.

Recommended Resources

Eric has done extensive research on finances, so here are his top three book recommendations for anyone starting in the investing or finance world:

  1. "Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki
  2. "Cashflow Quadrant" by Robert Kiyosaki
  3. "Unshakeable" by Tony Robbins

For additional resources, I recommend "You Are a Badass at Making Money" by Jen Sincero and a book by Robert Kiyosaki’s wife, which is great for women.

Unveiled Bride Society

I’m thrilled to announce the upcoming launch of the Unveiled Bride Society. This platform will include planning tools, an ultimate wedding planner, an e-course, and a community for brides. If you already have the Unveiled Ultimate Planner, you’ll receive a free month of the Bride Society.

Thank you so much for joining us today, Eric. Your insights are invaluable for couples looking to manage their finances together.

You're welcome, Kyle. I hope these tips help couples be intentional with their finances as they build their lives together.

If you found this helpful, please give it a thumbs up, share it with your friends, and let us know your thoughts in the comments. Happy planning!

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