The only thing worse than the extra 10 pounds that we put on over the last two months of the year, is the tens, hundreds, and even thousands of dollars of debt we can accumulate. The shock we get when the bills roll in can set us back quite a bit. The frustration and bitterness is the most miserable lingering effect. All of this can be avoided, or at least expected, if we do a little budgeting. Money is one of the most difficult topics for couples to tackle. Taking the time to work through these issues will go a long way to building harmony and peace. It can also help curb the interest rate charges we will be getting soaked with.
Tip #2 Financial Planning
- Gifts- If we don’t set a specific budget for each gift there will be no guidelines to follow. This puts particular pressure on our wives. If we don’t set the boundaries, they have no way to confidently purchase presents. What typically happens is; purchases get made on credit cards without much thought of the debt. We get frustrated every time we get a bill or see a bag of gifts. Then our wives feel bad because we are upset, yet we did not provide any leadership for them to follow in the first place. We just get mad and tell them something to the effect, “We can’t let this get out of hand.” Ironically, it really doesn’t mean anything. There must be specific guidelines and specific dollar amounts to work with. Worse yet, we start to feel guilty that we haven’t bought anything, so we run off to Walmart, Target or even worse the mall. We don’t coordinate with our wives and she feels the double standard. A gift budget can help prevent the impulse purchases that can hurt the most. If we don’t provide this kind of leadership, we don’t have the right to be angry when the bills come.
- Food- Feeding the masses can be very expensive. A well thought out menu can go a long way to corralling the food costs. The real food expense comes when we eat out. This is where the “check grabber” in me comes out. It’s really important to have a financial plan for these occasions.
- Travel- If we are on the road to see our loved ones, gas and hotels can drive up an already mounting debt. With a little thought and research we can have an idea of what the basic costs will be. It’s better to have an idea of what we are facing than getting surprised and having a melt-down on the road as we go share some holiday cheer…..HA!
It’s time to get a handle on the finances. If we don’t now, we will regret it in January.
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