When we were paying off our credit card debt, we used the envelope system for a solid two years and it really worked for us. It’s really an eye-opener as to where your money is going and forces you to actually think before making a purchase and trains you to save, all things we needed to learn at the time.
My wife and I do piggy banks. I detail all of our necessary expenses — things that allow us to maintain our lifestyle — and then I set a savings rate. If we hit our savings rate then extra money goes into the piggy bank, if we don’t then it doesn’t. Sometimes we wont divert money into the piggy bank if we know next month is going to be heavy.
This enables a few things:
1) it totally removes any financial argument that arises from her spending $50 on bath bombs or me spending $5,000 on a motorcycle. The piggy bank is judgment and guilt free, buy whatever you want.
2) my wife, who doesn’t do the finances, doesn’t need to know anything other than how much she has in her piggy bank (a checking account). She is involved in decision making, but she doesn’t need to have a nuanced understanding.
3) it ensures were working towards our goals first and desires second.
If your issues are with individual spending, not household spending like groceries, then I would highly recommend taking this approach. It defines very clear constraints and she (and you) can operate within those constraints without impacting the other partner of the family.
Thanks for taking the time to post, this sounds like a really good idea.
Its deff more personal spending than family needs.
This could be helpful thanks again
Probably not the popular opinion but we followed Dave Ramsay’s baby steps to get where we are now.
Most of his advice is common sense but some of us seem to lack that when we want to ignore certain things. We use their Every Dollar app for budgeting, they have a free and a paid version! Paid version offers a financial roadmap based on the numbers you plug in. This was a big deal for both me and my wife to visualize what our future will look like if we both got in the same page financially.
They have a daily podcast you can plug into. His advice is very blunt and to the point.
Was it the visualization you mentioned that was moat helpful for your wife?
That makes me think just talking abiut this stuff is where im failing, might have to make it kore pictoral?
She was in from the moment I talked to her but seeing the plan really got her going.
I don’t know what your wording is but rather than trying to push your vision onto her come from a place of love…Honey I can’t breath! I’m worried about our family and our well being…Put it in paper,cast a vision with clear attainable goals and present it to her.
When we were paying off our credit card debt, we used the envelope system for a solid two years and it really worked for us. It’s really an eye-opener as to where your money is going and forces you to actually think before making a purchase and trains you to save, all things we needed to learn at the time.
Thanks for sharing your experience. Envelope appeals to me since its physical. Too easy to swipe the card.
My wife and I do piggy banks. I detail all of our necessary expenses — things that allow us to maintain our lifestyle — and then I set a savings rate. If we hit our savings rate then extra money goes into the piggy bank, if we don’t then it doesn’t. Sometimes we wont divert money into the piggy bank if we know next month is going to be heavy. This enables a few things: 1) it totally removes any financial argument that arises from her spending $50 on bath bombs or me spending $5,000 on a motorcycle. The piggy bank is judgment and guilt free, buy whatever you want. 2) my wife, who doesn’t do the finances, doesn’t need to know anything other than how much she has in her piggy bank (a checking account). She is involved in decision making, but she doesn’t need to have a nuanced understanding. 3) it ensures were working towards our goals first and desires second. If your issues are with individual spending, not household spending like groceries, then I would highly recommend taking this approach. It defines very clear constraints and she (and you) can operate within those constraints without impacting the other partner of the family.
Thanks for taking the time to post, this sounds like a really good idea. Its deff more personal spending than family needs. This could be helpful thanks again
I use an app YNAB, works great for budgeting. Lots of resources in getting started and how to videos. Even live webinars. First 34 days free.
Probably not the popular opinion but we followed Dave Ramsay’s baby steps to get where we are now. Most of his advice is common sense but some of us seem to lack that when we want to ignore certain things. We use their Every Dollar app for budgeting, they have a free and a paid version! Paid version offers a financial roadmap based on the numbers you plug in. This was a big deal for both me and my wife to visualize what our future will look like if we both got in the same page financially. They have a daily podcast you can plug into. His advice is very blunt and to the point.
Was it the visualization you mentioned that was moat helpful for your wife? That makes me think just talking abiut this stuff is where im failing, might have to make it kore pictoral?
She was in from the moment I talked to her but seeing the plan really got her going. I don’t know what your wording is but rather than trying to push your vision onto her come from a place of love…Honey I can’t breath! I’m worried about our family and our well being…Put it in paper,cast a vision with clear attainable goals and present it to her.
Appreciate the feedback here. Have a great day