The 11 Principles Series: You and Your Spouse Are a Team
July 17, 2007 by Erik Folgate
Filed under Family and Relationships
If you’re single, then don’t skip over this final and crucial Money Crasher Principle about handling your money with a spouse. That day may come when you will be tying the knot and talking about how you will bring your money together, who will pay the bills, and what you will spend your money on. If you are married, then you already know that money can be a huge blessing or a huge burden when it comes to your marital relationship. The statistic that everyone hears is that half of all marriages end in divorce. Ironically, more marriages end because of money problems rather than infidelity. Why can’t people come to an agreement about their money? I think it’s a combination of greed, selfishness, and laziness. Some people hate the thought that their spouse will be spending THEIR hard earned money. They also think their freedom is being taken away. They think that every time they buy something, they have to look over their back to make sure their spouse isn’t looking. It doesn’t have to be that way if you do one thing: COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER.
Six Money Mistakes of Newlyweds
June 7, 2007 by Erik Folgate
Filed under Family and Relationships
I came across this across on Kiplinger’s website titled, Six Money Mistakes of Newlyweds. I thought that there would be a lot of advice that I disagreed with, but when I started reading the article, I realized that I agreed with most of it. Money is definitely one of the biggest issues that can cause strife in a marriage, especially new marriages. Typically, young newlyweds don’t have much money, and they need to watch what comes and what goes out more closely. Here are the three mistakes that I think are key in trying to avoid:
Protecting Your Financial Future During a Divorce
May 3, 2007 by Erik Folgate
Filed under Family and Relationships
I’m a strong advocate for encouraging couples to do whatever it takes to try to save their marriage. However, I am not an idealist, and I realize that divorce happens every day in America. In fact, almost half of all marriages end in divorce, and studies have shown that problems with money have been the number one cause of divorce in America. This is slightly skewed, because money issues in a marriage are usually the symptom of the real marital problems. If you are going through a divorce, my thoughts and prayers go out to you. It’s a horrible situation, even if you are parting ways without a great deal of angst. As a spouse going through a divorce, you do have rights and your other spouse does not have the right to trash your credit and put you in a tough financial situation.
Being Frugal Is An Art Form
April 30, 2007 by Erik Folgate
Filed under Family and Relationships, Spending and Saving
My wife and I were shopping for groceries today. We had put aside $130 in our groceries envelope for the next 12 days. For some reason, I went with her to go shopping this week. It’s not that I’m a male pig. She just doesn’t like me going with her, because we always end up spending more money than we budget. Food is my downfall. I see all of the wonderful goodies at the grocery store, and I just want to buy all of it. My point is that I may write for a personal finance blog and give my opinions about how to manage money, but my wife is MUCH more frugal than I will ever be. She thinks of more creative ways to save a few bucks than I could ever think of. Yesterday, she had the idea of going to get milk at the drug store, because they sell it for $2.49 as opposed to $3.49 at the grocery store. We always buy 2 gallons every two weeks, so that’s a savings of $4 a month, or $48 dollars a year. I know, that’s chump change, but if you think of 9 other things to save a dollar on that you buy four of in a month, then the conversation turns into $480 per month.
Resolving a Financial Dispute With Your Spouse
April 1, 2007 by Erik Folgate
Filed under Family and Relationships
There will quickly come a time in your marriage or dating relationship when you disagree about money. The most common argument occurs when two people disagree about how a certain amount of money should be spent. The guy might want to buy a television while the girl wants to put the money away for a vacation. One spouse may want to cut down on eating out while the other may want to cut off the cable or cell phone bill. These and many other financial decisions will often cause a dispute between two spouses. One of three scenarios occurs when a financial dispute arises.
Marriage and Money: Sit Down Together To Plan Your Budget
February 8, 2007 by Erik Folgate
Filed under Family and Relationships
I listen to a good deal of talk radio. I usually catch some of Dave Ramsey’s radio shows and a couple of local money shows as well. One of my favorite parts about listening to talk radio is getting to tap into the lives of other people and their struggles and accomplishments with money. One of the more interesting topics is when a couple is struggling to handle their finances like a married couple. What I usually hear is one of the spouses handles all of the finances and the other just takes orders from the one who handles the money.
Marriage and Money: Communication Is Key When It Comes to Managing Your Money Together
December 9, 2006 by Erik Folgate
Filed under Family and Relationships
My wife and I sat down today and mapped out our expenses for the next 6 weeks based on my pay periods. We figured out which bills needed to be paid during which pay period, and took the remaining amount of money after all the bills were paid and figured out where that money needed to go. We are going skiiing in a week, then the mayhem of Christmas, and then my best friend is getting married, so we will have a busy next three weeks. Sitting down and communicating about where the money needs to go and how much we have to spend on each category will save about 10 or 12 arguments in the next three weeks. We are both on the same page now, and there will be no surprises when we are spending our money.
Marriage Drops Below 50% In Family Households
October 17, 2006 by Erik Folgate
Filed under Family and Relationships
Recently, you saw the statistic in the media about married couples comprising less than 50% of the family households in America. This is the first time since they started keeping track of the statistic that it dipped below 50 percent. Many households contain single-parent families, gay/lesbian partners, and unmarried couples co-habitating with mutual children. However, the main reason for the decline in marriages is not due to the rise in alternative lifestyle relationship, rather it is due to an increase in divorce over the past three decades.ÂÂ
Marriage and Money: Is Your Spouse Out of Control?
July 6, 2006 by Erik Folgate
Filed under Family and Relationships
I love the subject of marriage and money, because money is one of the biggest problems within American marriages today. Knowing that makes me intrigued by the subject, because I want to be able to help married couples with money someday. I was thinking the other day about how I am such a money nerd, but my wife is even better with money than I am! She does not write in a blog, nor does she read Entrepreneur or Money magazine. She just practices good money habits, and sometimes I even get frustrated at how frugal she is! Then I thought about how lucky I am to have a wife whom is very self-controlled when it comes to handling money.
Marriage and Money: Men and Women Have Different Financial Wants and Needs
May 12, 2006 by Erik Folgate
Filed under Family and Relationships
I have not been married for too long, but it has not taken me very long to realize that men and women are VERY different! That is okay, because it would get very boring if I lived with someone just like me for the rest of my life. In terms of money, I believe that most men and women think very differently. I think we have different wants and needs.ÂÂ
Disclaimer: I know that this will be a broad generalization comparing men and women, so please refrain from hate comments if you are a part of of NOW.ÂÂ
