Important Financial Goals for Newlyweds

This post is all about financial goals for newlyweds

Getting married is so fun. You get to partner up with your best friend and take on the world together!

One of the best parts of marriage is making future goals and plans together! You and your best friend get to dream about your future life and all the adventures you’ll go on.

While you’re dreaming and planning, don’t forget to consider these important financial goals for newlyweds!

Financial Goals

1) Savings

The most important financial goal you and your new spouse need to make is one for savings! Before you buy or plan for anything else, you need to set aside some cash for a ‘rainy day’.

Unfortunately, life is full of unexpected events. Whether you lose your job abruptly, get in an accident, become sick, break a car, get robbed, or some other crazy event, you want to be prepared!

If you don’t have any savings set aside yet, I suggest you work to save up $1,000. That is a good chunk of money that will really help you out in unforeseen situations.

If you do already have $1,000 tucked away for a crisis, I suggest you then work on saving up 3-6 months worth of expenditures. If you spend $2,000 each month on rent, insurance, groceries, etc., then you’ll want to save up anywhere from $6,000 – $12,000.

This way, if you lose a job unexpectedly, you have a few months to find a new job and you won’t be rushed into taking the first opportunity with a paycheck.

It might seem overwhelming to put aside money for a random crisis, but you will be grateful to have it there when a crisis does hit! Trust me, financial troubles can hit anyone at any time and you will save yourself a lot of headache and worry if you have some money set aside for that emergency.

2) Tuition/College loans

Your next financial goal should include getting out of debt! Many newlyweds (like us!) are in a season of life where they are attending college. If you put a little bit of money into tuition payments each month, you might be able to graduate debt-free! Even if you only pay off some of the tuition, you will save yourself thousands of dollars in interest for each college loan you can avoid taking out.

My husband and I have spent hours working on our budget in order to make a plan where we can both graduate from college debt-free. I am happy to report that I graduated last December with ZERO college loans to pay off! With a few more months of hard work, we will save up enough money to pay for my husband’s last year of college as well, and we will both graduate debt-free. We are so pumped!

If you already have loans from education, the smartest thing you can do is pay them off ASAP. The sooner you pay off loans, the less interest you will have to pay on them. Save yourself thousands of dollars and hours of worrying by paying off those loans!

3) Transportation

Next, make sure to include your goals pertaining to transportation.

If you are a penny-pincher newlywed couple like us, you might have a worn out hand-me-down car. The good news is that the car was cheap! The bad news it that it may have lots of repairs and is likely to completely break down in a few years (if not months).

Trust me, we have been there and done that! In the first 2 years of our marriage, we owned 5 different cars! We found great deals for cheap cars on KSL, but after a few months, the cars break down and we have to hunt for a new deal.

If you are dreaming of a reliable car, make a financial goal for it! Start saving up for a newer car without as many problems, and the time will come when you can buy it! Start saving for this goal NOW so that when a great deal comes along, you have the financial means to grab it.

4) Housing

My favorite financial goal for newlyweds to save up for is a house!

Although it is likely that buying a house is a very long-term goal, it’s fun to think about starting now!

Take a look on Zillow for some houses in the neighborhoods that you would like to live in one day. Take note of how much they cost and take 20% of that in order to figure out your down payment.

Even if you only save $20 a month for your house, you’ll make progress towards your goal and that can help you feel motivated to keep saving!

Additionally, if buying a house is a goal that you won’t achieve for a while, you might consider putting these savings into the stock market. Then, as each year goes by, you’ll be able to earn interest on the money you keep there.

This would be a smart way to boost your house savings, and it’s where we keep our house savings currently! Without us doing much, our house savings fund goes up each year. It’s awesome!

5) Kids

Another important financial goal to consider as a newlywed is children.

Children are so cute and fun, but also VERY expensive! If you know that you want to have kids someday, you might want to start saving up for them now!

Even before you have a baby, you and your spouse will need to pay for contraception, pregnancy tests, doctors appointments, maternity clothes, nursery supplies, and hospital bills.

POST baby, you’ll need to pay for insurance, diapers, food, and all the other supplies a baby needs. Trust me, you will have much more peace of mind bringing kids into this world if you have some money saved up for them!

6) Retirement

Another important goal for newlyweds to consider is retirement!

The sooner you start a retirement fund, the more likely you’ll be prepared to retire when the time comes.

Many people do not save enough for retirement, especially since modern medicine and technology helps us live so much longer than ever before.

When you start a career, try to work for a company that will match your retirement fund. Then, if you put $100 into your retirement account each month, the company will put $100 of their money into your fund as well, and you can double your monthly contribution for free!

7) Vacations!

Finally, don’t forget to plan some fun!

If you start saving for vacations now, then by the time you’re ready for a holiday, you’ll have the funds to book an awesome trip!

It’s wise to always be saving up for vacations, because then you will be able to enjoy many life adventures. Whether a cruise deal pops up or your itch for a road trip gets strong, you’ll have the means to take some time off and go on an adventure with your spouse.

In my opinion, the newlywed season is one of the best times for adventure! Don’t miss out!

This post told you all about the important financial goals for newlyweds to consider.

What goals are you working on currently? What other goals would you add to this list? Let me know in the comments below!