REAL Couples – REAL Issues – REAL solutions.
This blog is a part of a series inspired by real conversations between real couples. The words have been inspired by using one of the guided conversations from www.OnlineMarriagePreparation.com.
STEP ONE: How do we define our issue?
How we spend our money.
STEP TWO: Why is this important to me/us?
Bride: I understand I can be careless with our money and spend it on materialistic items; however, we need to stop our careless spending and think about our future. We need to save more money so that we will have enough to take care of our children in the future. We need to learn to sacrifice our materialistic needs and think about our future. We have to be able to provide for children and make sure they don’t go through the struggles we went through as kids. I believe we should start a savings account to put our money in, especially for emergencies. We should not be able to use these savings unless it is necessary.
Groom: We are planning to have children in our near future but haven’t started saving money to raise a child. I believe we need to start saving now, so we will be ready when we have a child. We sometimes waste money on unnecessary things that we end up not even using. We could have been saving that money up for our future. We need to create a budget to help manage our money better. Our budget will point out the areas where we can save on.
Bride’s Feelings: hopeful, willing, optimistic, confident, determined, motivated, encouraged
Groom’s Feelings: willing, tired, confident, frustrated, determined, motivated, encouraged, overwhelmed
STEP THREE: What will a better future look like for us?
Bride: I will feel proud when I am able to sacrifice my wants and needs for our future. We need to think about all the sacrifices we will be making for our children. I believe we will be able to do it even though it might be hard in the beginning. I could make a list of things that I can cut back on and checking them off when I have accomplished them. I believe making a list and seeing where I spend my money will help open up my eyes and show me where I can save our money. We could make the list together and compromise on what we need to cut back on. We could check our our bank statements to see where we spend the most and see if we can cut back on spending at the store.
Groom: I think we will be happy once we figure out a plan to save money and once it is implemented we can have a feeling of relief that we are on the right path for our future children.
reduce my time on Amazon since I keep buying stuff on Amazon and some of the stuff are not necessary. I could create a budget and reduce my time on Amazon. We could work together to create a budget and list out all the things we can reduce our spending on and focus the money into our saving account. I can take a look at our bank statements to see where we have been spending our money the most at and seeing if we can reduce the spending in certain areas.
STEP FOUR: What are our best ideas?
Idea One: Create a budget and savings goal and sticking to it
Idea Two: Have a goal on how much money we should save after 6 months and talk to a financial advisor
STEP FIVE: What will I/we actually do?
Bride: I will find alternative ways to cut back on my boba like drinking more water. We both can pack our lunches to work instead of buying lunches all the time.
Groom: I can research some financial advisers and we can go together to see one. We can both visit a financial adviser and talk to them about any investments we can put our money into
STEP SIX: How will we know that we’re making progress?
We have met our goal on how much money we saved during the time period that we set. We look at our savings account and see our money growing.