Before You Know It You Have Kids!

Over the past year, our expert panel member and wealth and wellness coach, Rasheda Khatun Khan, has provided us with a wealth (pun intended!) of financial advice, from how to plan for retirement as a couple to sticking to your wedding budget, with lots more in between. In this, her final post, Rasheda advises us on the best ways to remain on track as 2017 progresses, and tells us how her life has changed. Enjoy!

Let’s get married, let’s have children, let’s buy a house, let’s build a business, let’s buy a retirement home…. Are these things you have said or thought about? Most of us have. Of course, everybody has also said, “My goodness the year has finished already,” and yes peeps it certainly has! It is now March and 2017 is well underway. Did you achieve everything you wanted to in 2016? How have you faired so far in 2017? You may have your BIG DAY approaching. At the same time, how do we balance all of those goals and plans with enjoying the year?

As finances play a strong role in all of our goals, making sure you plan your money matters thoroughly will ensure you get to live and enjoy all the things you both want. Time will continue to move quickly. Whatever happens, try not to get to December 2017 in the same place financially as you are now, unless you want to go backward of course.

Just like many of you, I was stressed over the planning of our wedding. So much to do, so much to think about and so many costs. Luckily for me, I enjoy the organising numbers part, although this doesn’t necessarily mean I kept to budget; but I managed to stay within limits. It can become so overwhelming and before you know it your costs have exceeded what you intended to spend. Well, it doesn’t stop there. After the wedding, you have the rest of your lives to live and plan for. It is so easy to start accumulating debt and falling behind on savings if you do not stay ahead of the game and if you know you want to start a family at some point, then you really need to focus on how you spend and save money. Before you know it, the kids will come.

Three tips for staying on track as 2017 progresses:

♡ Put your savings away first before all the other bills come out. Automate it and do it every month. Don’t get focused on the amount right now, you have so many other costs with the wedding so just start with something.

♡ Keep an emergency fund – at least two months of your monthly income. This is the cost of feeling secure. Try not to spend all your savings on the wedding; keep a little aside for the unforeseen costs that might come immediately after.

♡ Have a monthly budget and do it together. Work out how your accounts will work together after the wedding. How will you cover all the bills, etc? Sit down once a month and review it.

Now it is time for me to wish you well. You see for me, before I knew it the kids came! After an amazing marriage of two years, we are now indulging in the essence of parenting. Our gorgeous boy, Abyaan, was born on 27^th September 2016. Everything has certainly changed, not just in our finances of course but in my relationship and life. Being able to be a full-time parent at least for the first years was our goal, so we spent the previous year preparing our finances so that we could afford to do just that.

So, fellow readers, I hope my tips and tricks have been super useful for you over the past year. I wish for you to support yourselves with a solid financial grounding and build a life of true wealth.

Wishing you a lifetime of happiness together and may your marriage blossom to greatness.

xX Rasheda Xx

Looking for more budgeting tips and advice? Click here.