Do you stress over your money?
Is your spouse under the impression that you are constantly fighting over money?
Are you constantly fighting over money?
Have you completely eliminated your quality of life?
Do you spend hours each week analyzing where your money has gone?
A total budget can have a negative effect on the other parts of your life. If your spouse isn’t 100% on board, maybe he/she needs some “blow money” that doesn’t need to be tracked. If you aren’t spending enough time with your children because you are tracking expenses and adjusting your budget every day, you need to automate something, or at least loosen your standards. Maybe tracking every penny isn’t the right method of budgeting for you.
Don’t let the perfect budget destroy the rest of your life. If money is still a fight, you’re going to need to compromise on something, now, or you’ll end up compromising with the help of a divorce attorney.
Don’t forget, you are living now, not in the future. Plan for the future, but live in the present. There is a balance there, somewhere. Find it, or you and your loved ones won’t be happy.
Update: This post has been included in the Money Hacks Carnival.
Ummm…do you know somebody having this problem right now? My husband and I actually started our “fun” money system since I was being a nag. I thought I was the only one to go all Scrooge McDuck…
I’m not looking at a divorce, but there is occasional stress over our budget.
We worked out our “fun” money system and made joint long-term financial goals and all budget fights have stopped.
It’s been about 6 months and the spats have completely stopped…I highly suggest it. I went from being a nag to being part of a financial team in a matter of an hour. Hubby can spend on his hobbies without my head exploding and we are both happy to be hitting our savings goals. It’s made things so much easier.
It really is all about striking that balance. It’s a constant struggle!