Print this page

Just Got Engaged? Here's How To Plan Your Real Estate Goals

Written by Posted On Friday, 30 June 2017 10:17

You’ve finally mustered up the courage to pop the question and your future spouse is overjoyed. But this isn’t a fairy tale. Now what? Let’s be honest, if you recently got engaged you’re probably not even over the excitement of planning and having a wedding yet!

The attitudes of both the bride and groom towards spending are the most important thing that couples should think about when it comes to financial milestones like buying your first home together. They can be a major source of strife if mishandled properly and those financial disagreements will rain on your parade. The relationship between the cost of your wedding and your future marital and financial stability are linked inversely, meaning that couples the more expensive the wedding the shorter the marriage.

If both you and your partner and prudent and are going for a cheaper wedding, great! But what if you both have a taste for a bit of opulence and extravagance? What if you don’t agree on how much should be spent? The best way to solve these problems isn’t to rush into them: it’s to think ahead. And your real estate goals are a huge part of that.

Evaluate Your Existing Financial Situation

Looking ahead towards your financial future during something as emotionally involved as a wedding can be both intimidating and stressful. But don’t fret, you can break down your real estate and financial goals into manageable pieces like any other problem.

You’ll want to sit down and do some math. If it’s possible, you’re better off calling your buddy who’s a mathematician, financial manager, or investment banker over and treating him or her to a nice dinner while you discuss the topic. If your friends all hate math get a financial manager or advisor.

But before you reach for your cellphone to call them let’s continue a bit on the basics - the things you can do easily by yourself. If you don’t already keep a physical one or have an accounting program that does it, get a budgeting program. The aptly named service You Need a Budget (YNAB) is one of the most accessible and free tools that you can use to confidently pull in the financial reins.

With a budgetary goal you’ll be able to evaluate a number of important things. The most important things to keep in the back of your head as you decide with your partner how to plan your wedding are things like:

  • Your student loans (If you haven’t paid them off)

  • Other outstanding loans and the number of high interest loans you have.

  • Your spending habits (Do you like to eat out often? Do you splurge on clothing and accessories?)

  • Look at the current state of your checking accounts, savings accounts, and other assets  - maybe you have a forgotten 401(k), government bonds, or stocks you don’t think about often.

  • Your immediate and long-term financial prospects for the future (Think along the lines of your job and possible promotions for this point)

Once you’ve run through those, get your friend on the line and see if he can offer you any additional insights. There are a lot of powerful analytical tools that they might have access to that can really save you with accurate predictions.

Do Some Background Research

You’ll want to talk to some real estate agents or someone similar in a number of different locations. Background research means you’re looking to get the best value out of the available options in front of you. Your friend should have given you some idea of what you can and can’t afford with your own budgetary information.

Like a lot of different aspects of life, you’ll have to deal with a number of obligations and restrictions in your choices. The most common concerns you should prioritize besides pricing are:

  • Neighborhood safety - The rate of crimes should be considered a cost.

  • The culture of the area and its history

  • The educational system and schools - If you plan on having children.

  • Your job - Do you want to switch to something remote or go into an actual location everyday? What kind of company do you want to work for?

Remember not to forget your spouse that you just married in the midst of all of this thinking. You’ve gone fifty-fifty with them now legally (have a happy marriage), so their opinion on issues will weigh as much as yours.

Define Your Real Estate Goals

So let’s skip the wedding and the honeymoon. Now you’re back into the beat of things with your everyday life, job, and of course your new commitment. Defining your real estate goals involves thinking this future part through. Are you okay with returning to a rented place or small flat for a few years, or do you immediately want something more to commemorate and celebrate the occasion?

Don’t think that setting goals is something that you only need to do with homework and school; it applies to anything you want to achieve. Defining your real estate goal is similar work in how it involves you making an agreement with yourself (and your new spouse) about where you want to be living during what part of your life.

You’ve gone through and gotten your budget squared away and some financial advice from a trusted, reliable person now. You’ve taken the background of your situation into account. So making this decision is actually the easy part after you’ve developed your goals. What do you want to do?

Rate this item
(0 votes)
David Wither

Latest from David Wither

Joomla! Debug Console

Session

Profile Information

Memory Usage

Database Queries