You’ve walked down the aisle and are officially married. Now that the special day you’ve just shared with your spouse has passed, you’re entering the newlywed season. This time in your life will be filled with many emotions ranging from excitement to confusion. Let yourself experience these emotions to help create a greater connection with your spouse. Don’t beat yourself up for how you feel during this next year; blending two individual lifestyles together into one isn’t an easy task. Here are five tips that’ll help you and your spouse navigate this new chapter in your life.
Communicate
Often
It’s
no secret that a healthy relationship develops through honest communication.
When blending two lifestyles together, this becomes even more crucial for a
lasting relationship. Becoming comfortable communicating with one another and
developing a strong level of trust ensures that you’ll be able to share
opinions and feelings about different topics with each other. Brush up on your compromising skills, as this will help to deter a
long-term argument from happening. The new life you’re creating with one
another is just as much yours as it is your spouse's, meaning both of you
should have the opportunity to voice your own opinions. Remembering to be
understanding of an opposing viewpoint will help your marriage in the long run.
Discuss
Money
Now
that you’ve blended your lifestyles together, it’s important to talk to your
spouse about finances. This conversation can be dreaded but definitely needs to
happen. Couples have the option to establish a joint account, maintain separate
accounts, or a combination of both. Whichever option you both choose,
establishing a budget still remains a top priority. Take time to sit down
together and have a detailed conversation about one another’s financial goals.
A common goal among all newly married couples is purchasing your first home
together. Before you begin house hunting, look into how to get a
mortgage preapproval. Becoming aware of how much mortgage you can take out is beneficial in
narrowing down options that aren’t within your current budget. Creating a
financial plan allows the two of you to live your desired lifestyle, risk-free.
Spend
Quality Time Together
Your
time spent together on your honeymoon isn’t matched to the time you’ll have
together throughout your regular day. Nothing can compare to a week of memories
filled with devoted attention to one another without any unnecessary
distractions. Unfortunately, that week can’t last forever and now you’re back
to your regular routine. This may have you feeling discouraged about the amount
of quality time you’ll have to spend with each other. In order to combat this,
set aside time throughout your day to spend together whether it be your weekly
grocery shopping, going for a walk, or watching a favorite TV show. Quality
time isn’t defined by quantity, so don’t feel stressed when you’re not able to
devote several hours to your spouse. As long as you’re both putting in the
effort to set aside time to spend with one another, your connection as a
married couple will deepen.
Establish
a Chore Routine
When
you begin cohabitating with another individual, messes are bound to
occur and nobody
truly enjoys taking on a long list of chores at the end of a work day. To avoid
placing this responsibility on just one person, sit down with one another and
determine who will be in charge of each responsibility. Maybe one of you
prefers to vacuum while the other prefers to do the dishes. Learning each other’s
likes and dislikes when it comes to cleaning can help you create a chore list
to ensure your household doesn’t turn upside down from the build-up of messes.
Hold each other accountable for the responsibilities you’ve both agreed to.
Consider adding ‘clean up time’ to the daily routine you’ll share as newlyweds
to help make the rather boring cleaning tasks more enjoyable by spending time
together.
Maintain
Your Social Lifestyle
Being
married doesn’t mean you have to forgo your entire social life. Spending
quality time with one another is important in maintaining a healthy
relationship, but spending time with your friends and family is just as
important. The newlywed season is supposed to be fun, so don’t feel obligated
to limit your time to just your spouse. Consider planning a dinner date with
your friends while your spouse is golfing with his friends. Better yet, having
friends that are also in relationships allows for everyone to partake in a
large group date. Maintaining a balanced social life will only help to improve
your quality of life and relationships in the long run.
Navigating
through this new chapter of life may be hard at times. Don’t become discouraged
by the emotions you’re feeling. To recall the five tips that will help you and
your spouse fully enjoy the newlywed season; communication, establishing a
budget, quality time, a chore chart, and maintaining a social lifestyle.
