Budgeting

My sweetie hubbers and I will have been married ten years this spring. And I'm sure you've heard that money issues are the number one cause of disagreements with married couples. So, being the wise and conscientious dating/engaged couple that we were elevenish years ago, we diligently read some books and attended (ummm...maybe three) sessions at church regarding money management. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to take.

In the division of household labor, I seemed to get a large portion of house cleaning chores which is more my thing, and Alan got stuck with budgeting and investing, which sadly is not his thing. And despite some "attempts" in the past, we have never really lived on a budget, although we have lived within our means.

When it was just the two of us and we were both working full-time, we had plenty to live on. And when the kiddos came along, Alan obviously still worked full-time and I worked part-time but for myself, and actually made some really good money. So, while we didn't see it so much at the time, we had plenty to live on. And then Alan continued to work full-time and I changed to part-time at the private school and took a big paycut. And while we had plenty to live on, we did not adjust our standard of living. Which meant that come September/October of this past year, without a paycheck for me in four months, things were really, really tight. There were weeks at a time where the children didn't eat. Kidding! It was really only one week.

So, come November/December, we were getting back on our feet, and then - surprise! - Alan lost his job. And we really, really had to rethink how we were spending our money and how we could cut back and which child would bring us the most money if we sold him. So, we tightened our belts as much as we could and decided to just rent our children out as needed rather than sell one. And for the six weeks that Alan was out of work, money came in from different directions and bills were paid and it all worked out, thanks to God's providence.

The beginning of a new year is always a good time to re-evaluate finances. I have been reading (aside from my foray into the autobiographies of annoying, whiney starlets) a couple of Dave Ramsey books and consulting with my Very Own Personal Financial Advisor (hi Dad!) who has been guiding ME onto the paths of Budgeting Happiness. Because, reality is, I really am the one who is much more prone to develop and keep up with a budget than my precious hubbers is. LOVE HIM. He just is who he is, and maybe our financial disagreements/stress will be fewer if I take over this area of our lives. And I have to say, Alan is a wonderful, extremely hands-on father, so in addition to his taking over bathroom cleaning, the division of responsibilities has balanced itself back out. Well, that is, if I can negotiate (receiving) a daily foot rub into the mix...