Poor management of your household
finances can place a strain on your
marriage or relationship, ADEMOLA
ALAWIYE writes.
One sticky subject that arises for couples who
have just begun living together is how to split
their household expenses. Experts say to avoid
any problem, there is the need to sit down with
your partner and have a sincere discussion
about how your household expenses will be
paid.
Marriage counsellors say it is important to
carry your spouse along when making financial
decisions in a family. The ability to save is vital,
but involving your family in the process is more
beneficial. Financial security in a family,
according to experts, doesn’t come easy, but
requires adequate planning and strict
adherence to saving. This, however, can only
be meticulously achieved when you involve
your spouse in the management of your family
finances.
The experts say in most situations, there is an
individual in the family who likes doing all that
pertains to numbers and payments. This fellow
pays the bills, manages the spending or cash
flow, looks for great deals and works on
spreadsheets, leaving his or her spouse out of
the activities. But experts note that even
though this individual is doing all of these
things, there is still another money manager in
the family. “No one person can do all the
money arithmetic in a home, you have to
involve your spouse and you will be surprised
at his or her input,” says a marriage counsellor,
Mrs. Felicia Sanyaolu.
She notes that your spouse might not be as
involved in the day-to-day management of
your family’s finances, and explains that this is
because in many cases, your spouse doesn’t
have the knowledge of how much money is in
the family’s bank account. Experts note that
most times, the spouse just knows how much
he or she can spend on entertainment or
clothes for the month and maybe a few other
budget categories at his or her disposal.
According to experts, this is a dangerous
approach to family finances. “No one knows
what might happen to the breadwinner of the
family and if something costly happens to him
or her, what will the spouse do?” Sanyaolu
asks. She further considers how the spouse
steps in and manages everything if something
drastic happens to the breadwinner. Experts,
therefore, say it is important for both spouses
to manage their resources as this has great
benefits. Below are simple steps on how you
can involve your spouse in financial decision
making:
Budget money together
This is very important in a home, experts say.
They note that spouses should budget their
money together each month as this will boost
their savings and trim unnecessary expenses
when shrewdly done. Even though you have
fixed spending in place, there are still planning
decisions to be made each month for
discretionary spending, marriage counsellors
say. One thing you must understand is that
your spouse doesn’t have to be necessarily
involved in the day-to-day finances at the level
of detail as you may have, but should have
knowledge of the resources and how they’re
being used. When this is done, he or she will
appreciate it if undertaken for mutually gainful
reasons.
Review expenses together occasionally
According to experts, it is also important you
review expenses incurred by the family
occasionally. This could be on a weekly or
biweekly basis. Professionals say while the
monthly meeting is important, so is a weekly
meeting about money. They note that all that
this requires is a review of spending for the
major budget categories and a discussion
around new significant expenses needed for the
month. It could be seen as a status meeting for
both spouses. You may not know how much
you are saving for your family by doing this
until your spouse is not around. If you want to
take it to the next step, you can write down the
balances of the major budget categories for
your spouse so he or she knows the overall
state of the spending plan. “This also has a
way of unifying the family, especially the
couples,” Sanyaolu adds.
Switch bill-paying duties
Let your spouse pay some of the bills. If your
spouse is not usually the one who pays the bill,
allow him or her to give it a try for some time,
but be willing to offer help if necessary. Experts
say this will give your spouse a better
understanding and appreciation of how
important it is to be involved in the decision
making process of your family’s finances. Allow
your spouse to pay some of the monthly bills,
but don’t overload the person who doesn’t
normally do this work for the family. You may
give him or her a few key bills to manage, as
this is a great way to involve the person and for
your spouse to feel fulfilled being a good
financial steward that contributes to the family.
Do the calculation together
This should not be left to one person. Engage
your spouse in the maths. Allow him or her to
try and calculate how the family would thrive
on a limited sum for a week or month. If your
spouse still can’t see the importance of his or
her participation in the financial decision
making, sit down together and look at your
budget or create a budget if there is none.
When the numbers are right there in front of
your eyes, it’s easier to be involved in the family
finances. He or she will be forced to make
inputs, provided you are both in good terms at
the time of working on the family budget.

Come up with a list of economic goals. . .

Divvy up your financial responsibilities. . . so one person is not SOLELY responsible for ALL BILLS.

When one person is 'slacking'. . . .GIVE HIM OR HER A BOOST to catch up. . .unless he or she is irresponsible with finances!