The Phone Call Balance

by Debbie Vasen | More from this Blogger

13 Oct 2007 08:27 PM

When I first starting dating my husband, he shocked me with what I thought was an unusual money strategy. Whenever he was about to spend money, he would just call his bank to see how much he had. That was how he knew if he had enough to buy something.

What! I thought... no checkbook, no budget... who was this man? I couldn't believe he had managed to function for years on his own with this method of money management. As the years have gone by and I have met and helped many people with their finances, I am surprised to find how many people actually function this way.

Many people assume if there is money in the bank, then there is money to spend. I even know couples who operate that way. For me, it just sounds scary. How can you not plan ahead?

While the strong financial differences between my husband and I took some time to work out, what I learned was many people are confused or afraid of money. For him, math was never his strong suit. Conversations about money made him feel inadequate and confused. We learned early on that it was best if I took control over our finances. I then made a simple system for him to use to help us stay on track. Since he hated the idea of money, this worked fine for us.

For couples who both feel the same way about money, you can use an outside party - like a financial planner - to create a simple system for you to follow. It is okay to feel overwhelmed by money management. It is okay to allow one person in the marriage to manage the budget if that works, or if that doesn't, to have a third party step in to help. What doesn't work is just to ignore the problem. Eventually calling the bank to see how much you have is either going to cause you to ruin your credit with unpaid bills or to possibly prevent your ability to find financial success.

Related Articles:

*Budget Strategies: Budgeting a Variable Income

*Seek Financial Assistance

*Your Money Personality

Learn more about Debbie Vasen

Debbie Vasen is a published web content editor and writer, as well as a freelance writer for various print publications. In addition to blogging at Families.

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