There is only a little truth in the saying that “money can’t buy happiness”. The reality is, finances are one of the most important aspects in marriage and it often spells success and failure.
Majority of the couples all over the world need financial literacy. Most people grew up going to school, learning things to make a living, and to get better to have some career advancements. The bottom line of everything is earning. We seek jobs, start a business, or invest so we could earn. We were taught how to make money but ironically were never taught on how to keep it and make it grow. Thus despite the success in different careers and endeavors, a lot of couples still struggle to get a good head start financially because they don’t know what to do in the first place.
Financial literacy is a skill and just like in learning and developing our skills necessary for our career in schools, it takes time to be equipped with the knowledge and become financially literate. It is a strategy, a plan and it doesn’t happen with luck or fate. It is a responsibility that should be worked out. It is never too late to start learning and for couples, developing your financial literacy is a must. Here are some reasons why you should give financial planning.
1.) Knowing what steps to take in building a good financial foundation. Building your financial nest is just like constructing a building. A building needs architects, engineers, plumbers, electricians, and other people for it to work well. Without these people, a building would either topple down or will never function well. Financial literacy on the other hand should be built systematically. There are financial tools that serves different purposes but as a whole, would result to financial freedom. Getting a health care plan, an insurance, eliminating debt, increasing your cash flow, setting up and accumulating an emergency fund, investments, and protecting your estate/investments are some of the steps in building a financial foundation. It has to be done right or else, just like if a building isn’t properly constructed, it will collapse.
2.) Knowing how money works. Many people rely on professionals for their investments which is actually a good thing, at least for a start. There is no better person to manage your investments than yourself. First of all, if you know money works, you will know what financial vehicles should you take in order to achieve your goals. Second, professional managers and advisers have fees and more often than not, they are expensive. And lastly, these professionals know how money works thus they will invest your money and give you a lesser yield. Say for example in mutual funds. Some companies could gain more than 100% in a year but have you seen any mutual fund company reflect a 100% gain just within a year? Not a lot. If you know how money works, you could earn a lot. However, it requires some effort but with such gains, it is all gonna be worth it after all, great things in this life doesn’t come for free.
3.) You’ll get to know what are the best financial tools to take for the family. In most cases, families rely only on one source of income (the father’s job by default) or if multiple, it is limited to only having jobs (either or both father and mother working) and having a business. Investing seems to be a very foreign and complicated term for most people thus they stay away from it and deny themselves great opportunities to become financially secured. The very limited knowledge of people hinders them to start and settle for what they only know and get carried away the risks involved in investing. If you know what you’re doing, the risks will be minimal and you will have more options thus you can provide your family the best option for their needs and diversify your nest to make it grow further. Financial planning is never hard if you know what you are doing.
4.) Peace of mind. If you have a financial plan, you have a goal, and if you have a goal you will know the outcome in years to come. One of the reasons why people worry a lot financially is because they didn’t plan their finances and settle for an “all-in-one” solution. In worst cases, people resort to loans to cover their immediate financial needs without realizing that they are digging their financial deficit deeper. With a good financial plan, you know where to pull out funds in case the need arises and protect your other investments to let it further grow.
Most marriages struggle and fail is because most couples fail to consider to strategically work out their finances. If you’re uncertain where to start, the best thing to do is to find financial mentors in different fields. The financial industry covers a very vast scope and one person can’t be an expert in all of them. Find somebody to guide you with insurance, health care, investments such as real estate and paper assets, and estate protection.
Take time to learn how the financial market works, after all it is for your investments and for your own good. There is no better person to plan and handle your investments than you yourself. Join seminars and enroll yourself in financial literacy groups.
Protect your marriage by drafting a good financial plan, work it out, and stick to it. It is never easy but it’s all worth it in the end. Learn how money works and let it work for you. Everything starts with a plan.