Talk money with hubby
By Jon Busdeker on May. 17, 2007
Dear Emily: My husband has a bad habit of buying things he doesn’t need before we have the money to buy them. For example, he decided to sell his mountain bike to buy a road bike, but didn’t bother to actually sell the first one before buying the second. I’ve tried to explain to him the whole counting your chickens before they hatch concept, but he can be as impatient as a child sometimes! How to I emphasize that his spending behavior could cause us serious financial problems down the road?
— Wife of Impatient Hubby
Dear Wife of Impatient Hubby: Well, you can start by explaining how the national credit card debt is obscenely high and how the practice of buying now and paying later could be part of the U.S. economy’s downfall.
But if this piece of macroeconomic news doesn’t really make an impact, talk to him about the importance of saving and how having money on hand for an emergency is more important than having new things.
Then make him put this lesson to use. Give your husband (and yourself) an allowance — money that you can spend independently of each other without having to explain anything to the other.
If he has enough funds to buy the current object of his affection, great. If not, force him to wait.
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