Life Planning
Money In The Time Of Love
When it comes to handling money post-marriage, different things
work for different couples – but it’s important to get the basics
right, finds Anagh Pal
Marriages are made in heaven,
but then so are thunder and lightning.
T
he implications of this
witty saying are obvious.
Marriage is, of course,
associated with love
and romance, but when two young
people start living under the same
roof, there’s something that assumes
great significance: money.
And why not? Bills and insurance
premiums needs to be paid, a
monthly spending budget must be
created and adhered to, monetary
responsibilities are to be suitably
divided, investments need to be
made, and future goals discussed
and planned for. Money is just
one part of married life, but a very
important one at that.
Managing household expenses
There are no hard-and-fast rules;
couples should decide what
works best for them. In the case
of Chennai-based Shreeram
Sreenivasan, 30, and Sabitha
Subramaniam, 27, who tied the knot
in April 2017, managing household
expenses is under the purview
of Sabitha and Shreeram’s mom.
Shreeram, who works as a marketing
manager with a real estate developer,
is the sole earning member of the
family. He allocates cash to his wife
and his mother for managing day-to-
day expenses.
Shreeram also runs an advertising
agency on the side with a friend
and this helps bring in an extra
income. “My wife reminds me about
the due dates of each expense and
I keep paying them. Aside from
transactions that can be done online,
my wife takes care of the salary for
the house help and basic groceries,”
he says. The couple is expecting their
first baby soon and Sabitha, who
Dilshad Billimoria
Director, Dilzer Consultants
“The investment contribution should be
based on one’s earning capacity. Typically
25-30 percent of one’s take-home income
should be allocated towards investments
for the long term”
58
Outlook Money April 2018 www.outlookmoney.com
used to work as a fashion designer
before marriage, says she might
consider taking up employment
some months after the baby is born.
Bangalore-based Divya Arathi, 29,
and her husband Kaustubh Praneeth,
31, got married in September 2017.
Divya works as an HR manager
while Kaustubh is an IT analyst. Last
month Divya shifted to Pune because
of her job and she intends to stay
there for a year. “We used to divide
our household expenses between
us, but right now the situation is
different as we have to run two
separate households,” she says.
College sweethearts Satyajeet
Gupta, 27, who works in the IT
sector, and Sevya Arora Gupta, 27,
an HR consultant, knew that they
needed to reach a stable financial
state before they could think of
getting married. Now that they
are living under the same roof in
a rented apartment in Ghaziabad,
Sevya takes care of the house rent
while Satyajeet is in charge of daily
expenses and paying LIC premiums.
The couple makes sure they do not
spend beyond their means so that
their financial goals can be met.
Covering for risks
While the promise of an exciting
life lies ahead, it is very crucial
to cover for risks. “If both the