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Most young couples know to have the “money talk” before they get married, but many wait to combine finances until they’ve said their vows. With more couples moving in together prior to marriage, cohabitation is great practice for the future because you can begin to share financial responsibility. However, even after splitting the bills and figuring out who’s on dish duty, many couples still postpone joining their bank accounts and preparing for retirement until after their wedding day. While this step can seem daunting at first, the only thing holding you back is a conversation. There aren’t necessarily any right or wrong ways to combine incomes, but if you need a little help, LearnVest, an online service for financial planning, provides both free budgeting tools and a premium service to couples everywhere.
Planning for your finances can be intimidating. LearnVest has free online tools to help you budget and also offers a customized service. Don’t know where to start? Is one of you a saver and one of you a spender? A great place to start is creating a joint budget online. This will allow you to sync your bank accounts and itemize your payments.
While there are multiple ways to split a budget, here are a few options: 
Comparable incomes: both contribute 50% to a joint account Two breadwinners: use one paycheck for your expenses and the other for savings 
Different incomes: both contribute 70% of your paycheck to expenses and keep the remaining for your own discretionary accounts 
Equals: throw everything in the same pot So now you have your joint budget and maybe retirement accounts through work.
What’s next?
This is a perfect opportunity to plan for your future and establish goals that you want to achieve together. Some may be paying off student loans, being debt free, buying a house, or simply being able to afford a vacation. This is where you can benefit from a financial plan.
Not sure if you need a financial plan?
The free service also comes with a 15-minute consultation with a real person to talk to and help you decide if you’re ready. For a fraction of the cost of a traditional financial planner, you can access a customized plan that gives you a snapshot of your current finances and personalized recommendations. When you decide to go forward, you have an in-depth discussion with your planner to talk about any concerns and aspirations, such as conquering debt, preparing for retirement, or buying your dream home. From there, you can set additional goals and work with LearnVest to achieve them on a realistic timeline.
Everyone’s financial goal is not going to be the same; your planner tells you what to do month by month, dollar by dollar, so you are staying on track toward the goals you have set for yourself. Maybe the reason nobody talks about finances until after they’re married, is that it’s a lot more fun to plan for a wedding than plan for a joint bank account. By giving couples the support they need to plan for their future, LearnVest helps them relax and enjoy their new life together.  
Kellee Khalil
About The Author
Kellee Khalil is the Founder & CEO of Loverly. She lives in upstate NY with her fiancé and two dogs.
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