Planning For Major Life Events...

The idea of having amazing life events, such as marriage, houses and having children is appealing to the masses, but for many the reality isn't as bright.

Especially in today's financial climate, it's not easy to get the money together to afford these kinds of luxuries.

In today's newsletter, I want to discuss this.

Myself and my partner were looking into marriage and how much it's actually going to cost us.

For the average couple, a wedding will set you back just shy of £20,000.

It's not exactly pocket change.

People simply can't afford it

The problem that people face when they're trying to plan their wedding, purchasing their first house or having their first child is purely down to money.

A lot of couples simply cannot afford to make the high payment of this, and as a result put their dream wedding or dream house on hold. This can be for many years.

But how can you get around this?

Getting married

After you get engaged, the first step is to have an open and honest discussion with your partner about your financial situations, goals, and any existing debts or financial obligations.

Once you've got both of your affairs in order, it might be best to develop a joint budget that outlines your combined income, expenses, and savings goals.

At this point, you could allocate funds for shared expenses like housing, utilities, and groceries.

Whilst you do this, it's imperative that you maintain an emergency fund that covers at least three to six months' worth of living expenses for unexpected things that come up.

If you're opting to go into debt for your wedding, make sure to develop a plan to manage any existing debts and decide how to handle future debt, such as credit cards or loans.

Buying your first home

I think it's fair to say the first thing that you should be doing is to start saving for a deposit on your home.

A standard recommendation is to aim for 20% of the home's purchase price, but in today's market you can get into property for as little as 5% (depending on your credit score and lending possibilities).

Before purchasing your "dream home", you need to make sure that you factor in costs such as stamp duty (if it's your first home you won't need to pay this), homeowner's insurance, maintenance, and utility bills in your budget.

When you have an idea of how much you're able to save for your deposit, you need to understand different mortgage options that are available to you and choose one that aligns with your financial situation and goals.

In this case, it may be worth using a mortgage broker as they have access to the entire market to find you the best deal.

During this entire process, my best advice for you would be to maintain good credit scores to qualify for better mortgage rates.

Having children

This is one I expect to go through in around a decade or so, but it's something I'm considering already.

Before you and your partner decide to have children, I would recommend that you estimate the costs of raising a child, including childcare, education, healthcare, and daily necessities.

It's at this point that you could consider increasing your life insurance coverage (if you have life insurance) to provide for your child's future needs if something happens to you. I would also recommend that you create or update your will to designate guardians for your children and outline how your assets should be distributed.

So moving forward with the rest of your week, are you going to further plan for your future life events?