Budgeting for Big Life Events: How Tech Can Help

While so many of us will go through similar major life events, it’s common to underestimate their full impact until you’re in the thick of it. A big part of this is due to the emotional baggage that comes with them.

For example, it’s easy to dismiss the costs of having a child (or another one) due to the excitement of adding to your family. It’s equally understandable to downplay the financial impact of a divorce if you’re unhappy and want to leave a marriage.

These big life events run the whole spectrum, here are some common ones that require careful financial planning: 

Marriage - From the cost of the wedding to merging finances, insurance, and legal planning 

Starting (or expanding) a family - Childcare, healthcare, education, and a shift in long-term financial priorities 

Relocation - Particularly for expats, moving between countries means everything from visa and legal costs to housing deposits, schooling, and tax planning 

Private or university education - A goal that often involves long-term saving, currency risk, and early preparation 

Divorce or separation - Legal fees, asset division, and rebuilding your financial structure 

Retirement planning - Estimating lifestyle costs, projecting investment income, and managing currency exposure. 

Each of these life events requires thoughtful financial planning, often well in advance. Yet many people only address them reactively, once the decision has been made or the change is already underway.

Spreadsheets and notebooks still have their place, but they rarely capture the full picture. For expats in particular, traditional budgeting tools often fall short. They’re not built to handle multiple currencies, or track assets and liabilities across countries. They don’t alert you when a goal is going off course, and they can’t forecast how one change in your life will impact the rest of your finances.

They also require a substantial amount of regular, focused work to keep updated, something that busy professionals can struggle to maintain.

You might be managing pensions in the UK, income in the UAE, property in France, and university fees in the US. That’s not a setup that works well with a calculator and guesswork. Without clear visibility, even the most careful planners can miss key costs or leave money on the table.

This is where wealth tech tools, like the Hoxton Wealth App, start to shine.

Modern financial tools are designed to make this planning less reactive and more proactive. The best platforms provide a clear, real-time view of your finances, no matter where you are or how complex your life has become.

Some of the key benefits of modern budgeting tools include:

A single source of truth for all your accounts

Instead of logging into five different banks and piecing things together, open banking connects your accounts into one dashboard. You can see your cash, investments, and liabilities in one place. This is especially useful if you’re juggling accounts across countries.

The ability to track your total net worth over time

It’s hard to make financial decisions without knowing where you stand. A net worth tracker updates in real time as markets move or debts are paid down, giving you a reliable reference point before any major decision.

This can be especially useful to watch over time, and to see in practice how short-term volatility and fluctuations have little impact on your long-term trajectory.

Projecting your financial future and tracking your progress

Whether you’re planning a wedding, saving for school fees, or preparing for retirement, being able to set a specific goal and track progress toward it is a huge advantage. Forecasting tools let you adjust timelines and amounts to see how different choices will affect your future finances.

Your important document vault

You probably have a digital trail of breadcrumbs for documents from major life events like wills, marriage certificates, contracts, and insurance policies. Some are in your emails, some saved in your phone, and others in hard copy in the bottom of a drawer somewhere.

A secure digital storage feature ensures everything is accessible when needed, especially important when dealing with different legal systems or planning with family abroad.

A financial ‘personal assistant’

Life gets busy, and it’s easy to let financial planning slip. Smart apps can send reminders, highlight unusual spending patterns, or alert you when you’re at risk of going off course. These small nudges can help you stay in control, without needing to check in every day.

Big life events can feel overwhelming. But the key to handling them well is having the clarity, visibility, and tools to make confident financial decisions. Technology won’t eliminate the costs, but it can make them far more predictable. 

For expats or people with financial interests in multiple countries, this kind of visibility is essential. With changing currencies, tax obligations, and lifestyle needs, having access to a smart, centralised platform gives you the confidence to plan well ahead of time.

At Hoxton Wealth, we help clients prepare for the milestones that matter. Whether you’re starting a family, changing countries, or planning retirement, our advisers work alongside you to align your financial plan with your life goals, and help you make the most of the tools available.

Explore the Hoxton Wealth App and see how it can support you in understanding the financial effects of your next big life event, or get in touch to speak to one of our expert financial planners.