Folks break up over $$$

When I met my husband we were 18 years old and college freshman. We didn’t know 4 years later that we would parents of a little boy. We didn’t know that a year after that, we would have another boy. Life can throw some curve balls but never give up. No matter how much we stressed out as individuals and worried, we never allowed money to become an issue in our relationship.
How can I say that if we were worried? We didn’t argue about money. We still don’t. We always approached the needs of our household as a team effort. We still believe that. Back when I was a stay-at-home Mom with our oldest two boys who were one and two years old at the time, there was one income and things were tight. Was I worried? Yes! Was I stressed? Sure. Instead of allowing money to bring a wedge between us, we figured out how to make things work. After all, money is the root of all evil right? We made cut backs and some days he put in longer hours. We tried to make it work.

Today, we still approach things as a team. Even though we’re still not where we want to be financially (who is?), we make it work. So many couples allow money to bring destruction to their home and that’s sad. If it’s a gambling or a drug problem or things of that nature, those are different circumstances. If it’s simply not bringing home enough money, work together. You have to communicate how you feel. Don’t play the blame game. Sit down together, evaluate your lifestyle and make adjustments. Learning to give up things and trying new things is hard but worth it. Do you really need to go to Starbucks every morning spend $5? Its probably cheaper to buy a coffee pot, filters, Starbucks ground coffee, and creamer at Target. I no longer drink coffee but I’ve done it! Does the family need to eat out every week? Probably not! Remake your favorite restaurant meals right at home. I do it now and I must say, the last time we returned to Red Lobster my family was disappointed. It just didn’t taste as good as mine. I have to tell you, cooking together brings another level of intimacy. So prepare yourself ladies. I won’t go there, that’s for another time. What am I saying? Try new things and give up old habits but do it together. One thing as adults, we don’t like to be told what do. So “telling it like it is” doesn’t work for this. You need to be one the same page. In the meantime:

Pray and ask God for direction as a family on how to make your money stretch.

Don’t be those who ask God to bless with money but don’t allow God to tell you how to spend it.

Peace and blessings!