With summer in full swing so is wedding season, and the invitations should be piling up on your kitchen table. Now if you are like everyone else that has been to a wedding, you think "what should I get for the bride and groom." Now instead of heading to your local Pottery Barn or Crate and Barrel to buy something off the ever boring bridal registry, why don't you give the couple something that they can really use, time with a financial planner.
Think about it, does the couple really need another picture frame or that set of steak knives? Or could they use some one on one time with a financial guru to help get their marriage off to a great financial start. So many couples do not have the money talk before the wedding and it's so important. Money is the most fought about topic in a marriage and the number one reason for divorce.
There is a down side in giving this gift, most financial planners tend to be more interested in long-term, rather than short-term, relationships with clients. However,
there are some planners willing to consider more flexible arrangements. For example, planners in the Garrett Planning Network will work for a flat fee per project or charge by the hour. Similarly, online services such as MyFinancialAdvice.com allow you to email or phone independent financial planners who are willing to answer questions on a wide range of financial topics. The hourly cost for these types of services varies from planner to planner, but $150 to $200 is typical.
Ideally, of course, you'll also want to find a planner who has experience in dealing with newlyweds and is familiar with the financial issues surrounding marriage and starting a new household. Now, some people might question whether much useful financial planning can get done in the course of a single hour and some might even suggest that giving them a one-hour gift is effectively setting them up to spend money on additional sessions on their own, sort of the financial equivalent of paying for the first book of a 32-volume encyclopedia set.
But I disagree. Granted, no one is going to put the bride and groom on the path to financial bliss in one hour. But a good planner should be able to help them create a budgeting and savings program, set up an emergency fund, get them signed up for 401(k)s and IRAs, suggest a few mutual funds, make sure their beneficiaries are up to date for any investment accounts and insurance policies they may already own, etc. In short, a planner should be able to help get them off to a good financial start.
By giving the happy couple a gift that they can not only use now but that will also pay them dividends in the years ahead you are giving the couple a head start in life as well as love, how many other wedding gifts can you say that about?
Think about it, does the couple really need another picture frame or that set of steak knives? Or could they use some one on one time with a financial guru to help get their marriage off to a great financial start. So many couples do not have the money talk before the wedding and it's so important. Money is the most fought about topic in a marriage and the number one reason for divorce.
There is a down side in giving this gift, most financial planners tend to be more interested in long-term, rather than short-term, relationships with clients. However,
there are some planners willing to consider more flexible arrangements. For example, planners in the Garrett Planning Network will work for a flat fee per project or charge by the hour. Similarly, online services such as MyFinancialAdvice.com allow you to email or phone independent financial planners who are willing to answer questions on a wide range of financial topics. The hourly cost for these types of services varies from planner to planner, but $150 to $200 is typical.
Ideally, of course, you'll also want to find a planner who has experience in dealing with newlyweds and is familiar with the financial issues surrounding marriage and starting a new household. Now, some people might question whether much useful financial planning can get done in the course of a single hour and some might even suggest that giving them a one-hour gift is effectively setting them up to spend money on additional sessions on their own, sort of the financial equivalent of paying for the first book of a 32-volume encyclopedia set.
But I disagree. Granted, no one is going to put the bride and groom on the path to financial bliss in one hour. But a good planner should be able to help them create a budgeting and savings program, set up an emergency fund, get them signed up for 401(k)s and IRAs, suggest a few mutual funds, make sure their beneficiaries are up to date for any investment accounts and insurance policies they may already own, etc. In short, a planner should be able to help get them off to a good financial start.
By giving the happy couple a gift that they can not only use now but that will also pay them dividends in the years ahead you are giving the couple a head start in life as well as love, how many other wedding gifts can you say that about?
1 comment:
Weddings are really momentous occasions and it is important that everyone remember them. I too prefer useful wedding gifts
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