There is no question that unemployment is hard on relationships. Financial issues are consistently ranked as one of the top three causes of divorce. While I’m no relationship expert, this is what’s working for us:
1. Spend less than you earn no matter what.
2. Remember you vowed “For richer or for poorer” not “For richer or even richer”.
3. Keep things in perspective; no matter how little you have, you still have much more than most other people in the world.
This is not to say Chuk and I never have tension about money (we do!) but both of us are committed to weathering this storm. The economy will turn around eventually. When it does, it will certainly be a relief, but until then we’re trying to remember that each hardship we survive helps our relationship to grow stronger, and that’s something we can be grateful for.
1. Spend less than you earn no matter what.
2. Remember you vowed “For richer or for poorer” not “For richer or even richer”.
3. Keep things in perspective; no matter how little you have, you still have much more than most other people in the world.
This is not to say Chuk and I never have tension about money (we do!) but both of us are committed to weathering this storm. The economy will turn around eventually. When it does, it will certainly be a relief, but until then we’re trying to remember that each hardship we survive helps our relationship to grow stronger, and that’s something we can be grateful for.
amen sister. It seems so simple- to live on less then you make- but all the personal finance blogs I read have your number one point as their number one point too. It is a hard concept to understand I guess. Good for you guys.
ReplyDeleteRicher or poorer indeed.
That's so true! I find it really hard not to fight about money, simply because we're both so worried about it. It's good to think back to the vows - thank you for the reminder!
ReplyDeleteWhat great advice!
ReplyDelete"... no matter how little you have, you still have much more than most other people in the world." So True! If we kept this in mind, so much of the rest of life just falls into its proper place, doesn't it!