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56% of the wealthy in my Rich Habits Study married right. What I mean is that they married a spouse who had certain traits that made their union successful. Finding a life partner who shares your work ethic, financial goals and life plan is crucial to success.
So how do you find the perfect mate?
You begin by being specific about the person you wish to share your life with. Make a list of ideal characteristics you want in a future life partner, other than good looks.
Example of Success Traits you have that you’d like your future spouse to have:
- Positive Mental Outlook – Upbeat, Optimistic, Enthusiastic
- Hard Work Ethic
- Educated
- Growth Mindset – Loves to Read and Learn
- Frugal with Money
- Shares Your Money Mindset
- Saver
- Energetic
- Charitable
- Supportive
- Empathetic
- Their Life Plan is Similar to my Life Plan
- Likes to Travel
- Loves Kids
- Never Gets Depressed
- Drinks Alcohol in Moderation
- Avoids Drugs
- Exercises Regularly
- Their Dreams and Goals are Similar to my Dreams and Goals
- Very Sociable/ Outgoing
Try to define exactly what traits you would like to have in a future spouse.
That becomes your blueprint for finding the ideal spouse. Obviously, they don’t need to check every box, but they do need to check about 70% of the boxes. Just like an exam, the higher the score, the better your marriage will be.
Once you and your future life partner have decided to get married, you will have three areas where you will be making very important financial decisions. I covered these three areas in separate chapters of my most recent book: Effort-Less Wealth: #1 Engagement Decisions, #2 Wedding Decisions and #3 Honeymoon Decisions. Making a poor financial decision in just one of these three areas can set you back in purchasing a home and having children.
Engagement Phase
How much should you spend for an Engagement Ring? This is the first big wedding financial decision you will be making and it should be made by both you and your future spouse.
If you wish to surprise your future spouse, and therefore won’t be consulting with them, then use this rule of thumb to help guide you in making this first big financial decision – do not spend more than 5% of your Gross Income on an Engagement Ring. And never pay for the Engagement Ring using a credit card. Instead, save a specific amount of money, every paycheck, for the Engagement Ring. If you haven’t yet met the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, but nonetheless plan on getting married, start setting aside 1-2% of your monthly Gross Wages every month for an Engagement Ring. Once you hit the 5% cap amount, leave that money in savings until you find your life partner.
Ego and emotion are two of the most common drivers behind poor financial decisions. When buying an Engagement Ring, your ego will want you to buy a ring that will impress your future spouse’s friends. Also, you will want to make your future spouse happy with a big diamond. Capping the spend to the 5% threshold or an agreed-upon dollar amount, takes ego and emotions out of the equation.
Wedding Phase
How much should you spend on a wedding? That often depends on who is footing the bill. If the wedding costs will be shared between both spouses families, then those families need to be involved in the decision as to how much to spend. If you and your future spouse are footing most of the costs, then you will need to start saving immediately after the Engagement Phase ends. In any event, a wedding budget needs to be created and followed.
If you have one year to save for the wedding, as a rule, spend no more than 20% of your combined Annual Gross Income on the wedding. If you want to spend more than that, put the wedding off for two years, so you can increase your wedding savings to meet the desired amount.
Weddings are made great by the people you invite to the wedding, not by the amount of money you spend on the wedding.
Honeymoon Phase
Another major financial decision is how much to spend on your honeymoon. As a rule, do not spend more than 5-7% of your combined Annual Gross Wages on your honeymoon. Some couples include their honeymoon expenditure in with the Wedding Budget/Wedding Savings, which is a smart idea.
Tom Corley is an accountant, financial planner and author of “Rich Kids: How to Raise Our Children to Be Happy and Successful in Life”, Effort-Less Wealth, Change Your Habits Change Your Life, Rich Habits Poor Habits and “Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals.”
