It’s maybe not what Hubby has in mind for a so-called date night, and certainly not the sexiest pick up line I’ve used, but talking money as a couple needs to become a priority. As everyone knows, money can be a primary source of a couple’s discontent…sometimes even leading to the dreaded “D” word. So, it’s definitely time well invested to have frequent heart-to-hearts with your significant other.
Thankfully, hubby and I have pretty similar notions about what we should and should not spend money on, and have only ever had minor quibbles over cash. While I would probably have to confess to a financial fib or two, at least we are not committing “Financial Infidelity” – there’s a bit scary video from the Wall Street Journal that my sister just posted on her DINKs Finance blog.
Our greatest downfall is that we both have a tendency to want the best for our family: all organics, no cheap fast food, nice clothes…the list seems to go on and on. We’re also generous, and would give to more causes in a heartbeat if we could afford it. Yet, there’s only so much money to go around, and often we are faced with decisions about what we want/need for our family.
Our greatest downfall is that we both have a tendency to want the best for our family: all organics, no cheap fast food, nice clothes…the list seems to go on and on. We’re also generous, and would give to more causes in a heartbeat if we could afford it. Yet, there’s only so much money to go around, and often we are faced with decisions about what we want/need for our family.
So, in theory it’ll be pretty simple. My first step is penciling in time on our calendar, and I’m going to choose the third Sunday of the month. That will give me enough time to pay bills and update the budget during the first half of the month. Ideally we would meet while the kids are napping, but as parents we know how little control we actually have over these small beings. So, we’ll probably have to wing it half the time, but the important thing is that we dedicate time regularly to discussing our family’s financial matters.
I’ll also dedicate some time to reflecting on these meetings, and sharing with you any insights that might be gleaned from these monthly pow-wows.
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Sustainable Family Finances
The story of a family creating an abundant and sustainable life.
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Sustainable Family Finances
The story of a family creating an abundant and sustainable life.
True, not the best pick up line, but honestly one of the best things you can do to maintain a healthy and strong relationship. Keep up the good work.
Your Sis,
Miel
At some point – once any tweaking to budget has been done – you may not need to have regular conversations as this will be on auto-pilot, and wouldn’t that be nice!
And I agree with Miel – one of the BEST things you can do to maintain a healthy and strong relationship is open communications – finance and any topic.
Yes, I certainly hope that someday soon we will simply toast to our success!
In the mean time, we’ve got some work ahead of us, but I do hope that our monthly chat will leave us grateful for all the blessings in our lives and optomistic about the future.
Thanks for your support!