You probably won’t be surprised to learn that Valentine’s Day is by far the most popular day on which to pop the question, with as many as one in six couples getting engaged on 14th February.
If you were one of those who got down on one knee this year – or you were the object of such a romantic proposal – then congratulations. You will no doubt now be making plans for the big day and your life together in future years.
It may not be the most romantic part of those plans, but planning your finances together is a crucial factor in building a happy marriage. Financial issues are sadly in the top five reasons why marriages fail, so tackling this right at the start means you can then concentrate on enjoying the big day.
We are all different, and it is common for two people bringing their individual lives together as a couple to bring contrasting attitudes to money to the relationship. This is natural and normal – the key thing is to have the conversation and be as transparent about finances with each other as you can.
Over the course of any marriage, a couple will face all sorts of financial challenges, and if you plan for them, they are much less likely to knock you off course.
If you have just got engaged, the first of these will be the wedding itself. According to the website Hitched, the average wedding cost in the UK in 2025 was a whopping £21,990; that figure rises to £23,350 in our part of the country. And that figure doesn’t include the honeymoon, nor stag or hen dos. So getting that ring on your finger means you immediately have to start planning and budgeting.
But really it is the longer-term that you should be talking about together as soon as you can. Will you pool your finances in a joint account or keep them separate (or a mixture of both)? Are you planning to buy a home together?
Then children come into the mix. Perhaps you are planning to start a family together, or maybe you already have children, either together or from previous relationships. In all cases, you will need to be reviewing your wills and almost certainly making a new one to take into account your changed circumstances.
There are tax implications to getting married as well – and some of these are actually positive. If one partner earns less than the annual tax personal allowance (currently £12,570), then they can transfer at least some of the unused allowance to their higher-earning spouse, potentially saving hundreds in income tax.
Assets can be transferred between spouses without any capital gains tax implications; a married couple effectively have two annual pensions contributions allowances; and the zero-rate inheritance tax allowance is transferred to a surviving spouse should one die – effectively doubling the amount that can then be left before IHT kicks in.
Likewise, business owners can transfer shares to spouses with no tax implications, giving every married couple two tax-free dividend allowances.
Couples tying the knot should also be thinking about insurance – you will now have someone else to worry about other than yourself. It will be time to review life insurance, critical illness and income protection provision, to make sure there is adequate cover.
But the main thing is not to avoid talking about all of this. You may have wildly different financial styles: perhaps one of you is a saver while the other has always spent every penny of their income, or maybe one of you has a risk-averse investment attitude while the other enjoys taking more of a punt. As with everything in a marriage, compromise is essential, and that can only happen if you are prepared to sit down and talk about it.
With the big day now in prospect, the financial side of things may not be the most romantic thing to discuss just after the whirlwind of a proposal, but if you can agree a financial strategy together as a couple and put the marriage on a firm financial footing, then you can then get on with enjoying married life with one important worry under control.