Now that you’ve tied the knot, it’s time to get settled into your new married life. As you’re experiencing many new things, your new financial situation is something you and your spouse should focus on. That’s where short term loans come into the picture. How do you use it wisely to establish your finances together? When it comes to buying things similar to a house and a car, your credit becomes extremely significant.
Here are tips on how to manage your borrowed money wisely:
Communicate
Being married means having to communicate a lot. Are you planning to get short-term loans? If so, talk over how you will use it so that the interest and relevant fees are worth the cost. If you have obtained a short-term loan to spend on your wedding or on the honeymoon, how do you plan to repay it without putting too much pressure on your finances?
You and your spouse should have a chat about your debts, income and even your updated credit scores. If they aren’t as good as you want them to be, work together to meet those expectations. It’s best to do this before you tie the knot, but if you haven’t, you should discuss finances with them as soon as possible. Setting up a dinner date so you could discuss your credit and finances might be a good idea so that both of you will be relaxed. Being open to each other and talking about everything is one of the best ways to prevent problems from getting in between you and your spouse.
Watch your credit
Moving into your new home might appear quite exciting, as well as shopping for new household materials like furniture, and bedroom décor. Although a discount on furniture sounds quite tempting due to a newly opened store credit card, it’ll leave a bad impact on your credit score. And, you don’t want to lose cash or max out your credit limit in between the salary period, right? This is true to both the employed and self-employed individuals who need to get back in their right footing after spending a lot of money on their wedding
Pay your bills
When the bills come, don’t disregard their presence. They’ll always be there; you can’t get rid of them. Pay your bills on time; they might gain interest over time. Divide. Who pays each bill, how much money is to be divided into each account, etc.? One way to make sure you could pay on time is talking about it. Late payments leave bad marks on your score. Paying debts in full would prevent them to add up. Now is the best time to tell your spouse about the importance of keeping up with your payments. If any of you has been missing payments before, talk about how you can keep up with the payments today.
Take care of your credit score
True, you’re no longer single, but the credit bureaus will still score your credit separately. So, don’t close accounts or max out your credit cards in the flavour of or because of your spouse. Your credit history may suffer if you close down your oldest accounts, and your utilisation ratio will surge the moment you spent more than 30% of your credit limit. Closing down several credit types will also seriously hurt your credit mix. If you want to save money by not using your credit cards—just cut them out or lock them in your safety deposit box, so you won’t be tempted to use them. In the same way, overusing your credit cards to accommodate your spouse’s wants or needs may not be a very practical move.
Getting married and starting a life together is the perfect moment for you to and your spouse to establish your money management habits. While you will no longer spend like single persons and you may have to compromise from time to time because you will eventually share in the household expenses—it is still smart to take care of your own credit file. On that note, discuss the pros and cons of adding each other as authorized credit card users. Are you both financially responsible or are you or your partner a bit careless when it comes to using that piece of plastic card? Discussing this aspect will prevent money-related arguments.
We’re here to help!
Are you and your spouse on the same page when it comes to your finances? Discussing your current financial situation, short-term loan options and the things that need to change so you can effectively manage your household expenses can help you build a financially secure marriage.
Our in-house mortgage officers at NSW Mortgage Corp are willing to discuss with you about how your credit, financial status and choices of short term loans as a newly married couple would affect your mortgage options. Feel free to reach out to NSW Mortgage Corp by making an enquiry today!
