Category: Marriage

  • The Three Components of Financial Management

    The Three Components of Financial Management

    “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:12 Managing money is not for the faint of heart.  There are three drivers of financial behavior. When these three drivers are clarified and combined, they provide an exceptional path for investing your time and money…

  • The Difference Between a Financial System and a Financial Tool

    The Difference Between a Financial System and a Financial Tool

    How many times have you heard “You need a budget?”  My husband and I spent hours tracking, and then arguing, over our different ways of tracking money.  We had our versions of budgets, and every time we sat down to review the numbers (which were essentially identical), we ended up fighting.  It was exhausting and…

  • How Living our Values Caused Our Spending to Go Up

    How Living our Values Caused Our Spending to Go Up

    My husband and I have never had a problem with saving and debt.  We still had money problems. Many people think that if you have zero consumer debt, live within your means, save, and give generously, you will never have arguments about money.  Allow me to disabuse you of that idea. Money problems are almost…

  • How My Husband and I Prioritize Charitable Giving

    How My Husband and I Prioritize Charitable Giving

    Giving has always been important to our family.  Even before we were married, we discussed how we wanted to be generous.  Because we discussed giving early on in our relationship, it has been much easier to figure out how to implement that value in our day-to-day life.  Even so, we have had to figure out…

  • Why Both Husbands and Wives Need to Know Finances

    Why Both Husbands and Wives Need to Know Finances

    In passing, I’ve heard several women comment that they feel comfortable leaving financial planning to their spouse.  Some of them are new wives, some of them have been married a few decades, and a few aren’t even dating. I’ve seen this play out quite well several times, where a single person in the household –…

  • The Best Financial Advice I Ever Received

    The Best Financial Advice I Ever Received

    I was 25 when I received the best financial advice from a good friend.  My husband and I had asked a couple we respected to talk with us informally about marriage during our engagement.  They graciously agreed, and we covered several different topics.  One of them was money.  These friends were wicked smart, but weren’t wealthy by any stretch…