It used to be that marriage meant merging everything—lives, religious beliefs, cultures, and money.

Not so much anymore.

While some couples still share everything from their checking account to their credit card, more than half the respondents in a recent poll maintained some separate bank accounts—with almost a quarter keeping completely separate finances after tying the knot.

But which approach is best?

According M & R Capital Management, there is no one right way to handle marital finances—only the best financial foundation a couple can build before they get married.

Here’s how to build that foundation.

Step 1 – Get Real About Joint Accounts

Suze Orman, personal money guru and former Oprah Winfrey Show icon, “I would never, ever have just one joint account. Never, ever, ever.”

Orman is an advocate for financial independence, and cautions couples against putting all their eggs in the same basket. Author and financial educator Tori Dunlap agrees: “You need your [own] money.”

Associate professor of management communication at the SC Johnson Graduate School of Management, Emily Garbinsky, disagrees—and she has the research to prove it.

Her study shows that pooling a couple’s finances leads to increased “satisfaction, harmony, and commitment in your serious relationship.”

Long before the I Do’s are exchanged, couples need to talk frankly about how they see the finances being shared.

Will they maintain their own accounts?

Will they have one or two shared accounts, or pool everything?

Will they contribute equally to an account for shared expenses, or will the split be based as a percentage of income?

Step 2 – Be Honest About Personal Debt

The best relationships are built on trust—and trust is vital when it comes to personal finances and debt.

For many, facing up to personal debt liabilities is nerve-wracking. It may be something one partner is still in denial over but creating an approach to debt management together—or separately—is crucial to future financial success as a couple.

Pro Tip:

If a partner has a low credit score, consolidating debts into a joint account can negatively impact the other person, making it more difficult to buy property or take out a loan in the future.

Step 3 – Learn How to Calculate a Debt to Income Ratio

As part of the journey to address personal debt, it is crucial that couples understand their debt-to-income ratio—and how this impacts their financial plan for the future.

Debt to income ratio is used by lenders and financial institutions to evaluate how well an individual or couple manages their finances. Generally, it needs to be below 36% to demonstrate one’s ability to service loan repayments.

Calculate debt to income ratio here.

Step 4 – Talk About a Prenup

Not all couples require a prenuptial agreement.

For some, though, it is necessary to protect other family members, premarital assets, and inherited funds. Likewise, a prenup can be used to protect one spouse against the other’s debt, where the debt is considerably high going into the marriage.

While the prenuptial agreement itself will be drafted by an attorney, discussing it as a couple can encourage improved financial communication, honesty, and problem solving in the relationship.

Step 5 – Future-Proof the Finances

With the average cost of a US wedding sitting at over $30,000, it pays to have a plan in place to pay for it.

Will they utilize savings to keep the debt down and—in many cases—reduce the overall costs? Research has shown that when a couple spends their own money on a wedding, they spend less. At the same time, couples who spend less on their wedding tend to stay together longer.

Future-proofing a life together raises questions that every couple should be able to answer with confidence—or at least in a way where they are comfortable asking the questions.

Those questions—and the financial implications that come with them—can make or break a couple in the coming years:

-Will they have children? Will someone give up their job to stay home with those children?

-Will they travel?

-When will they buy a home? Where will they live?

– Will either of them be looking to change careers, to return to study, to start a business? Can they afford to do that?

-What is their retirement plan?

Disclosure: M&R Investment Management, Inc. (“M&R”) is an investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Registration with the SEC as an investment adviser should not be construed to imply that the SEC has approved or endorsed qualifications or the services M&R offers, or that or its personnel possess a particular level of skill, expertise or training.

M&R mainly provides investment advice to individual investors. All information provided herein is subject to change. Investment advice and financial planning services are provided by M&R. M&R is not affiliated with any of its custodians including:

Schwab Advisor Services or Pershing Advisor Services

Any post-retirement individual may wonder, at times, about the safety and security of their future. Even though many people feel that they took the proper steps to secure their financial future in retirement, many individuals still face threats to their wealth management planning.

The biggest threats to security post retirement are health care costs, market volatility, inflation, death of a spouse, and depleted savings.

To learn more about these and other potential risk factors for individuals in retirement, M & R Capital Management discusses below where a retiree’s financial health could be at risk.

Health Care Costs

Potential unforeseen health care costs can have a major impact on the stability of the future for an individual in retirement. Health problems can arise seemingly out of nowhere, and should be planned and accounted for, even if there are no signs of them occurring.

Medical surprises can take a huge financial toll on an individual in retirement. A large medical expense can eat away years of savings and can cause financial instability.

Market Volatility

If an individual has invested money in stocks, market volatility can come into play for someone in retirement who does not have income coming in on a regular basis.

Maintaining a diverse portfolio and adding more bonds is a good idea to combat the potential market volatility that can be experienced while investing during retirement.

Death of a Spouse

Experiencing the death of a spouse is another potential financial risk factor that can come into play in the lives of people in retirement. Experiencing the death of a spouse may make it harder to pay monthly bills, especially if bills were split, or there was a dependence on the spouse’s pension.

Funeral costs can also be surprisingly expensive and may come as a shock to some individuals in retirement, so they should also be planned and accounted for.

Inflation

Inflation is another potential problem for people in retirement. Especially in recent years when the price of living has gone up, and the retiree is no longer receiving cost of living increases from an employer.

Fight inflation by investing in stocks and utilizing other assets such as Treasury inflation protected securities (TIPS) or Series I series bonds.

Insufficient Savings

Running out of money is another potential problem for someone in retirement. Many individuals in retirement may not account for potential problems that they could run into, and therefore may not have set aside enough money in savings, or they underestimated the amount they believe they need to live on.

Combat this issue by focusing on saving more money while still working and investing in stocks that pay a dividend or return. M & R Capital also suggests buying an annuity and or delaying Social Security payments.

Conclusion

There are several ways that can protect assets and savings even in retirement. Do the appropriate research and choose a secure retirement where funds can be withdrawn whenever needed without penalty. This is a huge financial benefit in the long run, as an individual will not be penalized if an unforeseen financial problem comes up in the future of retirement.

The years pass quickly – often too quickly. People lucky enough to reach the grand old age of retirement struggle to live the life they want on nothing but Social Security. After all, it only covers roughly 40% of the majority’s pre-retirement income. So, they reach for their 401k but find there isn’t quite as much as they thought. Why? Because they’ve made one (or more) horrendously common mistake.

From starting late to being too risk-averse to ransacking funds too early, retirement savers make plenty of errors when saving for their twilight years, resulting in a distinct lack of cash.

M & R Capital Management discusses the six most common 401k-depleting mistakes below, Americans can maximize their retirement plans and live the rest of their life to the fullest.

#1 Starting Late

People find it too easy to let 401k contributions fall off their radar, especially when trying to pay off student debt, buy a car, and navigate the sometimes-catastrophic early adulthood years.

However, time is the best tool when trying to grow long-term wealth. Therefore, not funding a retirement plan as a young person means missing out on a bunch of cumulative interest.

#2 Failing to Maximize Employer Match

Companies that provide 401k plans generally match their employee’s input to certain degrees. People who don’t contribute enough to maximize this ultra-helpful benefit are leaving money unclaimed.

Workers who are smart with their retirement fund contributions are typically better off down the road. Thus, employees should aim to understand their company’s full match and do whatever they can to get what they deserve.

#3 Choosing High-Fee Funds

Mutual funds aren’t necessarily a bad idea. They have fantastic performance histories, potentially leading to exceptional returns.

That said, they’re infamous for their high fees, which ultimately deplete the otherwise healthy growth.

Experts suggest retirement savers split their money between mutual funds and index funds. The latter charges lower fees, helping maximize cash in the bank

#4 Being Too Risk-Averse

Choosing the wrong funds or setting risk levels to low ruins savers’ chances at rapid growth.

Target-date funds are popular among 401k planners. However, they don’t just charge high fees; they’re notorious for being too conservative with savings. Why is this such a bad thing? It ruins people’s chances of a sky-high retirement fund.

#5 Ransacking Funds Early

Just because 401k plans let savers access their money ahead of retirement, doesn’t mean they should. But sadly, many do.

Early withdrawals are one of the most expensive ways to pay for today’s financial needs. So before ransacking 401k savings, consider the value of those dollars by retirement time.

#6 Failing to Increase Contributions

Increasing contributions each year provides a zero-effort way to increase retirement savings. However, many forget to do so.

The easiest way is to “set it and forget it” using employers’ increase schemes.

Mastering 401k Plans Makes for Fruitful Retirements

Avoiding the mistakes above puts savers on the right track for abundant twilight years. And who doesn’t want that?

Disclosure: M&R Investment Management, Inc. (“M&R”) is an investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Registration with the SEC as an investment adviser should not be construed to imply that the SEC has approved or endorsed qualifications or the services M&R offers, or that or its personnel possess a particular level of skill, expertise or training.

M&R mainly provides investment advice to individual investors. All information provided herein is subject to change. Investment advice and financial planning services are provided by M&R. M&R is not affiliated with any of its custodians including:
Schwab Advisor Services or Pershing Advisor Services

It’s been a rollercoaster ride for financial markets this year — and the last week has been no exception. From Apple announcing its slowing hiring to Google’s stocks becoming much cheaper to the havoc in commodities markets, it’s a miracle that investors know where to turn.

M & R Capital Management discusses the latest market moves below.

Apple Cuts Spending Sparking US Stocks Retreat

Monday afternoon saw US stocks relinquish their early gains following reports of the tech conglomerate, Apple’s, decision to cut spending and slow down hiring.

The Federal Reserve has struggled to wrangle inflation into submission for a few weeks. Thus, the worry of a recession has hung heavy over the markets. However, the report about Apple appears to have sparked deeper concerns.

After climbing 0.9% earlier, Apple’s stock dropped a whopping 2%, dampening the otherwise bright day for US stocks.

Despite that, US stocks experienced substantial gains in Asia and Europe. The FTSE index of Asia-Pacific shares rose around 2% after Beijing regulators urged banks to finance developers.

Main Street Investors Bask in Google’s Lower Stock Prices

Thanks to a vast stock split on Monday, June 18, a share of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, became much more affordable for avid Main Street investors.

The 20-to-1 margin share reduced the price of one share from around $2,200 to a mere $110 — a decrease of $2,090 per share!

While the stock split hasn’t altered Alphabet’s market domination (it’s still worth almost $1.5 trillion), it’s brought two major benefits.

Firstly, it has made Alphabet shares open to average investors. And secondly, it increases the likelihood that Alphabet will be added to Dow Jones Industrial Average.

On top of Alphabet’s stock split, other major companies have announced their intentions to follow suit; GameStop and Tesla are just two of them.

Stocks and Oil Drowning as Markets Consider USA Rate Rises

Mixed stocks and decreased oil prices prevailed as the dollar climbed ever higher on Thursday, July 14. The jaw-dropping inflation figures released on July 13 had investors questioning what this means for US interest rates.

Last month, consumer prices across America increased faster than they have in 40 years, as per a report published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The annual inflation rate clocked higher than economists’ predictions at 9.1%.

These economic slowdown fears slammed oil prices, softening Brent crude oil prices by a major 5.1% to hit $94.50 per barrel. This reversed the international oil benchmark to levels seen before Russia’s Ukraine invasion.

Fears Over Recession Wreak Havoc on Commodities Markets

Friday, July 15, saw copper market routs deepen. The globe’s most vital industrial metal slid below the $7,000 per ton benchmark for the first time since late 2020. Why? Due to fears over the economic slowdown.

The impact of a trudging property market plus the seemingly never-ending Covid-19 lockdowns in China has seen a market initially worried about metal supply loss from Russia switch interest.

Copper prices have dropped incessantly, but the market’s view is changing to concerns that maddening rate increases and rising China coronavirus cases will smack demand for commodities, including copper.

Disclosure: M&R Investment Management, Inc. (“M&R”) is an investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Registration with the SEC as an investment adviser should not be construed to imply that the SEC has approved or endorsed qualifications or the services M&R offers, or that or its personnel possess a particular level of skill, expertise or training.

M&R mainly provides investment advice to individual investors. All information provided herein is subject to change. Investment advice and financial planning services are provided by M&R. M&R is not affiliated with any of its custodians including:
Schwab Advisor Services or Pershing Advisor Services