3 Important Tips For Having Your Spouse Involved In The Budget

January 18, 2019 Stu Q

These days having money struggles is the name of the game. More often than not, we hear about new ways to try to make money, save money, or just get out of debt. On top of this, one of the biggest struggles and fights in a relationship is money. So how do you make sure you are on the same team with your spouse before tackling any of the first three ideas?

1) Talk, Talk, Talk

Yes, it seems simple, but the easiest way to get your financial team in order with you and your spouse is to talk. This is not an attack session. This is a time for you to sit down and let each other talk about what each person’s ideas are with the money. Be open to what the other person has to say, and try to see their side of things. Next, be sure to be open about what your thoughts are. Do not use accusative words to place blame. Rather, explain things that are not working and how you suggest they might work (both you and them). Just remind each other that you are on the same team. It is not you against them or vice versa. This is you two against your struggles.

2) Understand The Struggles

You are not going to have everything figured out at once. There are going to be struggles or pain points you each will have. Understand these might be shared, or only one person may see them. Address these struggles together as a team. Perhaps you can work through the struggles one at a time or tackle them all at once. Regardless of what you two decide, know that you will get pass these and all those which will come up in the future.

3) Build The Plan Together

We have talked about having a budget hundreds of times at this point. However, if you are just starting out, you are starting at the bottom floor. You will have to go through the arduous task of compiling your expenses and income to understand what you are working with. From there, you need to sit down and build out the budget together. When you build it together, you each can see how it all fits together. It also allows you each to provide faster input as to any changes that you want to make to allow for a better budget.

The items discussed are not a 1, 2, 3, done step process. These go in order, out of order, and sometimes get focused on one. You have to know these things are going to come around again and again as you go through life together. Once you get in a good rhythm, you will be able to work through these 3 key items very quickly.