Life is about making choices of the things you will do and the things you will not do. You cannot choose to be everything to everybody and expect to succeed. Let’s explore choices of how to manage your family especially family finances.
When I was young, my grandfather told me three things; money, sex, and food are some of the biggest challenges in a given family. If other factors like religion came up where the wife belongs to a certain faith from the husband’s, family tensions may become worse.As you plan, make choices of how to grow the family, you need to keep these things at the back of your mind.
How do you manage family finances? There are many options at your disposal. You must choose the option ideal for you. Remember, there is no single formula that is ideal for all couples. Each couple needs to identify a model ideal for them considering their background and current circumstances; especially the factors or bond behind their marriage.
Life is about making choices of the things you will do and the things you will not do. You cannot choose to be everything to everybody and expect to succeed.
If you married somebody because they have some money, it means your model will differ from a couple who got married while still struggling. With that in mind, you have the option of:
Model 1: Having a joint account with 100% 100% stake in it
Assuming I am the man, I have my wife, we can agree that all our salary will be put on the joint family account. We can then plan of how to spend it and on what. If the wife earns say US$1,000 and the man earns say US$2,000. Under this model, you will put all this money on the joint account i.e. US$3,000. And plan to spend it together!
If you choose to take this model, there is a very critical promise that you will be faithful to one another. If one of the spouse or partner cheats and the other gets to know about, in which case you have to separate, it becomes a very big challenge. Effectively, you are giving 100% of your resources, energy and skills to a spouse that is cheating on you! That is a no go zone.
As you plan for this model, you must have a clean heart. This is my partner for my entire life time. You must keep the promise.
Remember, as a family you will not get peace of mind unless you get the issue of money at the beginning of your marriage life streamlined. Unless you do that, you will still have challenges.
In the part 2, we look at the second family financial model to consider. Watch the space.
