Joint financial planning: Conversations couples should be having

By Sue Torr Director Crue Invest

® Director B.Comm, AdvDip (Investment Planning)

Corlene financially? Are you each prepared to make compromises? What happens if one partner gets retrenched, wants to take a sabbatical, or wants to start a new business? Your respective careers will likely be interspersed with new job opportunities, potential job losses, promotions, salary increases, transfer opportunities, job dissatisfaction, new business opportunities, or even business failures. It's important to support each other through the ups and downs.

Money in the context of marriage can be notoriously difficult to navigate especially where couples have widely disparate views regarding personal financial management. The following discussions can be helpful. Your planned life together: While it’s unrealistic to expect couples to have identical visions of their life together, it’s important to find common ground in the life they intend to build for themselves. What does financial success look like? Are you both committed to building wealth together? Are you a team?

Sherry Tapfuma Financial Para-Planner B.Comm, PGDip (Financial Planning)

Hannah Myburgh CFP® Financial Planner B.Comm, PGDip (Financial Planning)

Planning)

Cherise

CFP® Financial Para-Planner B.Comm, PGDip (Financial Planning)

Your financial value system: Sharing a common financial value system is an important part of a couple’s financial planning journey, so be sure to understand how your budget and lifestyle will fairly reflect the morals and principles you live by as a couple. Whether it’s your commitment to continued education and learning, your aversion to debt, your desire to travel, or your altruistic ambitions - these are important conversations to have. Household financial management: What role will each of you will play when it comes to managing the budget, paying bills, tracking expenses, buying groceries, and record-keeping. From our experience, it’s important that both partners are involved, engaged and committed to the management process.

Your careers and earning: Do you both want to build careers? Is it logistically possible? How do you manage your respective incomes? What happens if one person earns more than the other? Does one of you want to stay at home to raise children? How would this affect your standard of living and your plans for retirement? How would the other spouse feel about being the sole breadwinner? Do you share the same work ethic?

Providing for each other: Developing a joint estate plan is an essential part of the financial planning process as it ensures that each partner is adequately provided for, that all your estate planning documents are up-to-date, and that estate costs and taxes are minimised. Remember, marriage creates a duty of support between couples and a well-structured estate plan will ensure that this duty is fulfilled in the event of either partner’s death.

Extended family: Speak to each other about how you will deal with money in the context of your extended family. What happens if a family member asks to borrow money? To what extent is it acceptable to discuss your financial affairs with other family members? Are your respective parents adequately funded for retirement? If not, to what extent can or will you assist them financially? How do you feel about your parents living with you?

Charitable giving: Whether you’re contributing to a Church, charity or NGO in the form of time, resources or money, make sure that your partner knows, understands and respects your involvement.

Crue Invest (Pty) Ltd is an authorised financial services provider regulated by the Financial Services Board, FSP No. 19025.

Long Place, Pinelands

Children: Do you both want children? Will you both continue working? If so, who will care for your child? Does one partner want to be a stay-at-home parent? How will this affect the family’s financial position? How does the stay-at-home parent build wealth in their own name? What financial value system will you impart to your child? What type of schooling do you envisage?

Supporting each other: When hard times arise, how will you support each other

Your shared vision of retirement: Do you want to live independently for as long as possible, or do you dream of living in a lockup-and-go retirement complex? Do you want to travel? If so, where and how often? Do you envisage a simple retirement in a small coastal village or a busy retirement in the city? Do you want to live close to your children and grandchildren? Is having pets important to both of you? Is having a garden not negotiable?

While it’s not likely that you’ll agree on every aspect of your dream retirement, finding common ground starts with open communication, sharing of ideas, and joint planning. 

PINEHURST BREAKS GROUND FOR NEW ASTROTURF!

On the 6th of March 2023, Pinehurst Primary initiated a long-term dream with the new Astroturf’s Ground-breaking Ceremony. The Principal, Mr Carroll, addressed a full assembly of learners and members of the Governing Body in the hall, before heading out into the drizzle to turn the first sod. Some of the current teachers, former pupils of Pinehurst, shared their experiences of the school before the swimming pool and the multi-purpose centre were built. Mr Carroll reminded the assembly never to take things for granted, but to appreciate opportunities and take a moment to be thankful. The school was encouraged to make good use of this facility striving to improve skills, by doing their best and by having fun! House captains from the three houses represented the sports which will be played on the surface, being hockey, tennis and netball. The surface will cover roughly a third of the grass field, leaving sufficient space for soccer, rugby, athletics and PhysEd. Pinehurst is able to build the astro by using reserves built up over many years through good stewarding of financial resources. There will also be fund raising. Mr Jonathan Miller, head of the Fundraising Committee, addressed the learners highlighting how all will get to enjoy the new astroturf. He encouraged the assembly to work together as one big team to help “sell” the 2 800 m2 square by square. Learners were excited to hear about all the lucky spot prizes hidden underneath the squares. Mr Carroll closed the assembly with a prayer of thanks.

Above: An audible gasp was heard when Mr Carroll raised a golden spade - the symbolic action of starting the project by digging up the first piece of grass. The Finance Committee, Sport staff and some HODs joined Mr Carroll on the field despite the rain as he broke ground, stating “it’s the beginning of a dream”.

Advertise On Billboards

There will be advertising opportunities on the fencing boards, which will be available to rent. This is a great opportunity, especially for local small and medium Pinelands businesses to get high visibility within the local and greater community. This will be an excellent platform for businesses not only to advertise to our local parent body, but also to

Sponsor A Piece Of Astro

The installer, SynSport, and their civils team started later that morning and by the end of week 1 the turf was taking shape and raising excitement levels around the school.

parents of other schools, as we believe that the Astro will become a hub for matches and tournaments. The billboards will be rented out for a 2-year period with the option to renew. If you or your business is interested in this, please contact the school on astro@phps.org.za and we will be in touch.

You can support our learners who will be “selling” square metres of the Astro, through the purchase of tickets at R100 each. There are great prizes to be won, including weekends away, sailing trips, etc. Payments can be made by SnapScan or cash.

The SnapLink URL is: https://pos.snapscan.io/qr/AvJnVztT

Make A Donation

You are also more than welcome to make a donation directly to the school for the PHPS Astro project. A section 18A tax certificate can be requested from the School Business Manager and donors will be recognised on a sponsorship board. The school can be contacted on astro@phps.org.za to get more details.

Snap here to pay

PINEHURST Primary School OPEN DAY

The school’s bank details are:

Pinehurst Primary School

Standard Bank

Acc no. 073206342

Branch: 036309

Reference: Astro Name & Surname

Pinehurst looks forward to sharing this exciting new development with our community!