Photo : gireesh gv
Satyajeet Gupta , 27 , IT professional
Sevya Arora Gupta , 27 , HR consultant
Location : Ghaziabad Goals : Buying a house Bank accounts : The couple maintains separate accounts for meeting earmarked expenses and a joint account for investment purposes
Money roles : She pays the house rent and he takes care of daily expenses and insurance premiums
Investment decisions : Taken after mutual discussions
each couple is different and so are their goals . For many young couples , buying a house is the first priority as high rentals and low-cost loans have made it easier to purchase one ’ s own home on EMI . For Shreeram and Sabitha , financial goals include buying a house in mid-2019 . For this , Shreeram intends to rent out an existing property in Trivandrum to earn some extra income . The other immediate goal of , course , involves the expenses that would come with the arrival of the baby . “ We have not made any specific plans yet , but we will do it as soon as the baby is born ,” Shreeram says .
Buying a house in Ghaziabad is an immediate goal for Satyajeet and Sevya in the next couple of years . For this they have started a joint account at iWish with ICICI , a recurring deposit account which helps one create goals and save up for their dreams . Every month they deposit `20,000-`25,000 in that account so that they are able to meet their down payment requirement ( which could be in the range of `6-7 lakh ).
Once the long-term goals are set , a couple needs to discuss them at length . “ It is very important for couples to discuss their long-term goals as it increases the bonding of working towards common dreams in life . The commitment from both the partners makes the achievement more probable ,” says Maheshwari .
Divya and Kaustubh are not looking to buy a house anytime soon , but their financial goals in the near future include starting a family , buying a car , and eventually starting something on their own . With this in mind both of them have enrolled for courses that they hope will boost their careers and help them realise their dreams . While Divya is doing a course in life coaching , Kaustubh has done one in analytics and big data .
Staying on the same page A marriage concerns two individuals , so there can be different points of view when it comes to money . The idea is to discuss , share both points of view , and arrive at a decision . In the case of Divya and Kaustubh a natural balance is struck as Divya is the kind of person who looks for security and saves up for future goals such as starting a family , while her husband is someone who likes living for the moment . “ When it comes to making decisions on what to do with our money we sit down and share our points of view till we reach a logical agreement . It is a ‘ give some , take some ’ situation and finally we arrive at a compromise ,” says Divya .
In situations where one person is more inclined to spend and the other is not , such discussions can lead to wise monetary decisions . Recently Shreeram wanted to buy a new car and had zeroed in on a Volkswagen Polo , but Sabitha suggested that they postpone the buying decision by a few months as the baby ’ s arrival would mean increased expenses in the short term . “ Such inputs and suggestions from your spouse are always helpful ,” admits Shreeram . Just as in any relationship , communication is key for a couple to make wise and prudent money decisions and pave the way for a happy married life !
anagh @ outlookindia . com
www . outlookmoney . com April 2018 Outlook Money 61