Shortly after your wedding and honeymoon, reality sets in. When you start co-living and co-existing, you also start so-spending and co-saving. This may all seem a little overwhelming as you embark on this new journey. However, instead of shying away from your partner, adopt an approach that’s governed by absolute honestly.

Decide your responsibilities

Sit down with your partner and decide your share of responsibilities. Basis your income and other responsibilities, you can split your household expense in a pre-determined ratio. And this doesn’t just apply to your expenses, but also to your budget and investments. Take up financial roles with clearly defined tasks.

Create joint goals

Once you are done setting your roles, chalk out your goals, what financial aspirations you want to attain individually and together. Break your goals in to short-, mid-, and long-term goals and plan your finances accordingly. Pick financial assets basis your income, investment tenure and risk appetite to accomplish your goals. Make sure you revisit your goals and financial standing in regular intervals.

Increase your life cover

You are married now so you have joint financial responsibilities. You must consider securing the other person financially in case you were to be faced with an untimely demise. If you have a life cover already, check if the coverage is sufficient to take care of all your near and dear ones. If not, increase your cover to make room for everyone. Always remember, the younger you are when you purchase insurance, the cheaper your premium will cost you.

Tackle debt together

While getting married doesn’t directly imply that the spouse’s debt becomes your liability, but it does reflect on your lifestyle, budget and your chances of getting loans in future. For example, a spouse’s high credit card bill or low credit rating can make it hard for you to get a home loan, shoot up your interest charges. So, help each other out in reducing your debt load for a secured financial future.

Start an emergency fund

Investing in an emergency fund is important given that you have increased responsibilities now. This fund is meant to have you covered if you were to be faced with any unforeseen circumstances such as job loss, a sudden health hazard etc, things that could put you out of action for some time. You should aim at creating a fund worth the size of your expense for a year. Set aside an amount every month and put it in a liquid fund to stay prepared for anything unforeseen.

(The writer is CEO, BankBazaar.com)