Money, Money, Money…

Working Parents
For the first ten years of my life, my father worked and my mother stayed home. Everyday my mom would pick me up from school, make me a snack, play a game with me, then help me with homework. I loved that my mother was a stay at home mom and I loved how good she was at it. When I was eleven my mother had to find a job as a social worker. I was confused and sad that she had to work. My brothers picked me up from school and I ended up making them an after school snack. I was sad and frustrated that my mother got a job, but now I realize that it was good for her and my family’s finances.My mother loves her job and makes a difference in what she does. My mother keeps moving up and gets promoted often because she is such a hard worker.
Now that all of my siblings are out of the house, my mother still works. I know that sometimes she would rather stay home, but she is working so that her and my working father can uphold the lifestyle that they are used to. They both live in Summerlin, a town in Las Vegas, which is a really expensive place to live.
When you and your spouse are deciding on a place to live, it is important to look at the housing prices, food costs, etc. If your husband is only going to make 50,000 per year and you want to live in Newport, California then you may want to reconsider. My husband is going to be a firefighter in Washington and he makes a good amount of money, but if I want to live a lavish lifestyle than I need to consider getting my Master’s degree and working part time.
Equality when it comes to money
Both agreeing on where the money is going is vital to a marriage. It is so hard to agree sometimes, but you just have to suck it up and figure something out. My husband, Ben wants to spend our money on vacations and hiking/camping gear. I would love to spend money on clothes, going out to eat, and vacations. But at this time in our lives, we only have enough money to spend on the necessities like groceries, rent, and gas.
In five years when Ben and I have lots of money to spend I am a little nervous that there will be arguments about where the money should be going. My husband and I will always agree on what vacation to go on and where to eat, but we will have a hard time agreeing on my shopping allowance and Ben’s hiking gear allowance. I know some married couples that both work and they have separate bank accounts. Those couples use the money that they individually make and then spend it how they like, which is not healthy. The point of being married is to make decisions together and compromise the things that you want. I think a good way for both partners to be able to spend what they want is to both have an even amount and make sure that it fits in your budget.
Budgeting
“The American Bar Association recently indicated that 89 percent of all divorces could be traced to quarrels and accusations over money” (Elder Marvin J. Ashton). Money can rip families apart if you don’t handle it properly. If your family is struggling, it is super important that you make a set budget and strictly follow it.
The first step to making a budget is it to look at your bank account and write down everything that you spend and then put it in categories like food, entertainment, rent, car/gas. Next you will have to write down the costs of things that you can not change like rent or gas. After you figure out you necessity costs, you need to make some changes with the things that you can change, like entertainment. You will have to give up things you love like going out to eat or going to the movies. I know that this is super hard, but being poor won’t last forever if you continue to work hard.