When Marriage and Money Just Don’t Add Up

Guest post by  Margaret Cook


Saving money by spending less is a common first strategy. Once people realize how hard that is, they often turn to ideas for generating more income. Very few ideas are instant income assurance, but almost every income generating solution requires initial expenditures.
If you are working to reduce debt and you are considering starting a business of any kind, create a specific plan of what you will need to spend in starting your business. Be practical and realistic. When your financial worries abound, errors in planning and decision-making increase.
Married couples often have added stress making financial decisions. Money can become an emotionally charged flash point in the relationship. Starting a business before both partners have learned how to work through financial decision-making and being able to work well together to meet a financial goal can be a recipe for disaster.
Follow these tips for handling finances in your relationship:
1. Learn about the values, ideas and experiences each of you bring to any financial conversation and decision (saver vs. spender, competitive vs. passive, fearful vs. idealistic, etc.) These are not excuses to defend. Understanding your experiences will let you make any changes you need to make for the collaboration that financial success requires.
2. Identify a regular time to work together on financial decisions and work. It may start as a weekly financial meeting and it may be able to move to every other week/once a month when things are going well financially.
3. Read and learn about how to make good financial decisions. Read reputable resources on the internet and/or use the many downloadable tools for budgeting and finances.
4. Accept responsibility for the financial decisions that contributed to the problems you are working to solve. Accepting responsibility allows you to make changes and become active in the solution.
5. Learn to handle the checkbook more as “math” than mood. Make sound financial decisions – even on small purchases that are consistent with the agreed budget and remember to “do the math” often enough that everyone knows where you stand on the balances and meeting the budget.
If you are considering starting a business to create additional income, consider using a guide to help you create a realistic plan. Many of my clients found the information in The Jump-Start Guide… helps them create a realistic budget. It keeps them from underestimating expenses and inflating the expectation of income. I developed the material in the book over the last twenty years of counseling and career/business coaching.
Margaret Cook
Author of The Jump-Start Guide for a Start-Up Online Business


Article © 2012 Margaret Cook. All rights reserved. Printed by permission for blog.wisdomSteps101.com.




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