Only a few months to go before the wedding season begins to heat up. By this time, I can imagine a lot of prospective brides and grooms starting to feel that white-hot feeling of panic as expenses start coming in and as the reality of the entire things sinks in.
A lot of marriages are destroyed by poor financial management, so this is not the time to enter that holy agreement all wide-eyed and unprepared. Love can do a lot of things to finances – both good and bad.
Reader Jay, for example, emailed us asking for advice on how to make his money grow more. He intends to get married and settle down in the Philippines in two years. Jay says he understands the concept of high risk/high return, and wonders what options are available after deposits, stocks and mutual funds.
Let me pick up this portion of Noet Ravalo’s advice:
The cash flow requirements of a single person and a married person are worlds apart. This is not just a minor tweak here and there of your portfolio. In my view, providing for yourself, your wife and your children not only changes the pressures on your finances, but also changes the priorities and the dynamics of your investments.
Read the rest here:
I think this is one of those things that we all know, but somehow cannot wrap our minds around unless someone really drums it into us. You know, those moments when something so obvious only becomes clear at a certain defining moment.
Once you put that ring on her finger, boy your life is surely going to change and finances had better be one of the first things couples should adjust.
Noet advised Jay, who has a P5 million portfolio in deposits, stocks and mutual funds to consider lending his existing securities to other parties over short periods – although he stresses out that Jay should completely understand first the risks and returns of this option and get a professional to advise him.
Noet also recommended bonds and structured notes. I notice that these days, people are hardly looking at bonds – stocks are the current darling of the market. However, no run-up in the stock market will continue forever. If you are talking about long-term finance, definitely, well-picked bonds should be part of a good portfolio.
Buy bonds through banks, but don’t ask your average teller. Get in touch with private banking groups, asset management departments, and trust departments. The government claims that its small-denominated bonds should allow small investors to put in a minimum of P5,000 in bonds, but sorry to say that this has not really happened. So be prepared to plunk in much, much more than P5,000.
April 30th, 2007 at 3:45 pm
Hi Salve I think I meant “dream wedding” burning a big hole in your pocket, and it seems more important to some people than to others
But building married life on firm, financial foundations should still be a priority.
April 30th, 2007 at 10:32 am
hi nina and don2x, most people think a pre-nup is only for the wealthy. in practice, that’s also true.
There have been changes in the Family Code since 1998 that make prenups increasingly attractive to more people. Check out my article “When love means having to say ‘This is mine’
http://money.inquirer.net/personalfinance/view_personalfinance.php?yyyy=2005&mon=06&dd=16&file=1
In that article, SGV explained that the new family code now allows husbands and wives to own whatever their spouses own even before the marriage. To me, the biggest repercussion of this change would be felt by those who have children in a previous marriage. Tip for those who are considering a prenup: get it if you want to make sure the children feel confident that they will not be eased out of an inheritance.
April 30th, 2007 at 9:09 am
nina, i agree with you about weddings. They are emotional events, that’s why it is hard to stay within the budget =). My tip for those who are planning to get married. Trim the guest list. All the other expenses are dependent on how long or short that guest list is. I really went to the extreme on this one: each person on the list had to mean very much to my hubby and I. No one was there for political or business reasons, or people you want to prove something to. Result: a wedding that’s very meaningful because you won’t see a face that will make you nervous, insecure or tense.
April 30th, 2007 at 8:55 am
chip, I agree. Rates have no way to go but up because its almost ready to bump into inflation. The government won’t allow interest rates to fall below inflation rates, that’s for sure.
April 30th, 2007 at 8:52 am
hi pinoy investor, thanks for dropping by. I agree with you about starting a business. But definitely, this is not for those who are weak at heart. I love the way you said it “start small, think big, try things out, learn from mistakes…”