5 Ways to Help a Reluctant Spouse Begin to Budget Money Families.com

5 Ways to Help a Reluctant Spouse Begin to Budget

One difficult thing in any marriage is dealing with the finances. It can be especially difficult when one spouse wants to save or spend more than the other. It may be that one spouse (usually the one who pays the bills) comes to the realization that something needs to change, while the other spouse wants to continue spending money without cutting back. It is important to work on your finances as a team, but is there anything you can do to help get your spouse on board? Here are five suggestions.

1) Often times one spouse simply has no idea just how the money is spent. A mistake that many people make is to assume that because they are making money, they have enough money for everything they want. It can be eye opening to sit down and explain exactly where the money goes, and how much is left or overspent each month.

2) It is important to allow you and your spouse to have some money for yourselves each month. This can help to limit overspending. It can also prevent one spouse from feeling hen pecked by the other over every little purchase.

3) If your spouse refuses to limit spending you may want to switch the entire family over to a cash system. This will only work if you both switch. You simply can’t take away a debit card, but if you are willing to make the same sacrifice this may help your spouse be willing to switch as well.

4) You can find ways to cut back categories that affect the family. This can include the grocery budget, eating out, and clothing. As you do this, you can share with your spouse the amount of money that you have saved over the month. This may help to motivate him to change as well.

5) If the situation is truly serious you may want to take to a financial counselor or clergy member as a couple regarding your situation. Often an outside opinion will help your spouse realize that things do need to change. This should be used as a last resort, only if your spouse absolutely refuses to discuss the situation or change.