With his student loans and my credit card debt, we need to make some important decisions about our finances. After talking with our parents, they suggested we sit down with a Customer Service Representative at our bank. We learned there’s a lot to consider.
She advised us to sit down and compare our individual finances to get a full picture of our financial position.
Knowing the full picture helped us decide to establish a joint checking account to handle our monthly bills.
Plus, listing my accounts doubled as a reminder of who I needed to contact to update my legal name. With so many to remember, having them listed in one place made it easier.
Combining accounts isn’t always an easy decision. After going over our individual credit reports, we learned that in some cases individual applications for credit still make more sense financially.
We’re definitely eliminating his apartment lease, maybe mine too, if we can find an affordably priced home. Our customer service representative helped us determine how much house we could afford. We can’t wait to start looking for our first home together.
Insurance is another consideration. We’re combining our auto insurance policies so we can save on our premiums. And we’re even considering increasing our life insurance.
And just when we thought we had enough to worry about, retirement planning came up. Getting on the same page about our retirement plans will help us make some key long-term investment decisions.
Talking through these financial decisions now will get us started on the right foot. We are so excited to start our life together.