Married Money Management Step 1: Make a Budget
Welcome to the first installment of the Married Money Management series here at Engaged Marriage where we will be looking at the keys to financial success for married couples. Please be sure to subscribe by email or RSS so you don’t miss out on the tips, strategies and personal experiences that will be shared over the next nine (or more) weeks.
The first and most important step to achieving financial success in your marriage is to make a budget. Put simply, a budget allows you to tell your money where to go instead of wondering where it went.
Some couples are reluctant to create a budget for their household finances because they think it’s too difficult, too confining or they honestly just don’t want to know how poorly they’ve been handling their money. While I can definitely relate to these feelings, the fact remains that creating a budget and living with a plan are absolutely essential.
Our First Big Mistake!
In the first few years of our marriage, we thought we could live just fine without a budget. Believe it or not, I actually read Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace right after we got married when a co-worker suggested I give it a look.
Announcing Married Money Management: 9 Steps to Financial Success
In the early years of our marriage, money was not a fun subject as we struggled with a lot of debt and only a little understanding of the importance of financial harmony in our life together. We had no plan and just followed the (really, really poor) example of money management we witnessed among our friends and in our culture as a whole.
Fortunately, we learned a lot along the way and now enjoy a great deal of freedom in the financial area of our marriage. We’re debt-free and honestly never argue about money.
I want to share our journey and give you the guidance that I wish we would have had before we were married nine years ago. Like our own path, this journey will generally follow the advice of Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps, but it will include our personal experiences and specific advice for engaged, newlywed and not-so-newlywed couples.
To give this important topic the attention it deserves, I plan to break it all down into (at least) nine different posts. I’ll begin sharing this series on Monday, and we’ll look at a new step along our financial journey each week for the next two months or so.
Want a Better Marriage? Learn About Money!
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Anthony Kirlew of Life is a Bank. I am passionate about the need for quality financial education among married couples, and I think this post provides a great overview of the areas that you need to understand. I’ll be back from my brief “paternity leave” on Monday. Enjoy!
Money is at the top of the list of issues that married couples argue about. There are a host of money-related items to disagree about from not having enough money to differences in how to use the money that they have.
One way to reduce – and ultimately eliminate – these unwelcome interactions is to be open with each other about your “financial IQ” and set out on a course of learning about money and personal finances together. That said, here are a few things to keep in mind.
First, both spouses may not have a genuine interest in personal finances (such as the case with my wife). I would recommend that each spouse really makes an effort to learn the basics and more if possible. We have all heard the story of the widow whose husband handled all of the finances and when he died, she was left not knowing anything about their finances (which included not knowing about his life insurance or his will).
Finding Financial Freedom with You Need A Budget
Happy Independence Day to my fellow Americans! I hope you are enjoying some fun family time over this long weekend and remembering all those who fought and continue to fight to preserve the awesome freedoms that we enjoy each day.
We are opting for more time indoors than usual this holiday weekend while we anxiously await the arrival of our third child sometime in the next week or two. Thank God for air conditioning! 
When I think of our family’s own freedom, the thought of finances always comes to mind. As you may be aware, we paid off a LOT of debt and now enjoy much more financial freedom, and that carries through to all aspects of our marriage and family life.
I recently shot another video where I discuss the number one cause of divorce in America and why I think You Need A Budget is such a great tool for addressing this important problem. And here’s another reason to celebrate: I just purchased a new video camera so this is the last really low-quality video post you’ll see from me! 
Get Rich Slowly Giveaways!
I am excited and quite honored to have a post featured today at Get Rich Slowly. Please head over and share your thoughts in the comments of “6 Steps to Strengthen Your Family on the Journey to Financial Freedom.”
In honor of the occasion, I have some great giveaways to share…so please read on and enter to win!
Welcome to Our Friends from Get Rich Slowly
If you are a new visitor from Get Rich Slowly, I’d first like to welcome you to Engaged Marriage! I encourage you to take a few minutes to look around, and I think you’ll find an awesome community of proactive people who love their marriage and family life.
If you like what you see, I’d also encourage you to sign up to receive free updates via RSS or Email whenever new posts are published here at Engaged Marriage. If you’re really serious about getting killer content and exclusive advice aimed at helping you have an awesome marriage, please sign up for our free Marriage Time newsletter.
If you love finances as much as I do, I hope you’ll enjoy these posts:
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I'm Dustin, the guy behind Engaged Marriage. I'm living and loving the crazy life of a young husband and Dad.
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