Money, Money, Money.

May 7, 2014

Stress can kill you! Some authors estimate anywhere from 50-70 percent of doctors’ visits are stress related. The physical toll of financial stress is scary. Relationships are destroyed by the pressure of financial mismanagement. Some stress we cannot control, but financial stress is often self-inflicted.

Over spending is self indulgent and leads to stress. It can be intentional or unintentional. Unintentional is normally related to careless management. Small slippage can lead to the end of the month question, “Where did all our money go?” My wife and I wrote down every dime we spent for one month to discover the leakage. It was actually little things like the coffee, the snacks, the small indulgences that were contributing to “more month than money!”

The intentional spending may be more difficult to control. Commitment to some simple principles of money management may help. Here are three:

No Impulse Buying: Wait 24 hours to purchase a big ticket item and have agreement on what limit constitutes a major purchase. (Our limit started at $50.)

No Interest on Credit: Credit cards are put away the moment the total cannot be paid in full when due.

No Lone Ranger Action: Without a partnership you will fail. Hold each other accountable.

Action:  Ask the following questions: On a scale of 1-10 how stressed are you feeling about finances? Which of the 3 rules are being violated? Agree on principles and steps for reducing the stress you are feeling.