One for the Money

Many people may not realize, but financial issues are one of the biggest reasons couples get a divorce. Money has something to do with everything. I love the guide to family finance "One for the Money" by Elder Marvin J. Ashton. He has so many true principles that will help you and your family financially. The first principle we talked about in class was paying tithing. We all know that we will receive blessings if we pay our tithing and we know that it is the right thing to do. But do we know how it will affect our family system? Paying tithing as a couple can help bring them closer together and toward the Lord. It can help strengthen your marriage so much and really bring the spirit into your lives. By paying tithing you are proving to yourself and to the Lord that you are disciplined enough to budget and you have self control over what you spend your money on. 

Another principle we talked about in class was learning to manage our money before it manages you. In a couple it is so crucial to be on the same page and clarify your values between each other. Elder Hales told a story at conference about how he wanted to buy his wife a really nice coat and he said the four most loving words were "we can't afford it". I love this story and it shows that we need to discern between our wants and our  needs. We need to trust in our spouses. One point that came up that I thought was really interesting was the fact that if we are in debt we are losing our agency. Literally we are tied down to something that we can never walk away from. This just proves again that we should try as hard as we can to stay out of debt and really try to manage our money wisely.

My husband and I have been using a budget lately and has really put things into perspective for me. It helps us to realize at the beginning of each month how much money we have coming in and how much we can have going out. It is hard to look back at past months and realize how much money we spent on things we really didn't need. Working on a budget together really helps us both to be aware of our finances and to communicate about things. If there is something we don't like that we are doing, then we can change it together. I also think it is so important to teach your children to manage their money wisely. I really liked the example in class of the parents popping tons of popcorn and having it represent money that the family earns each month. Then they separate it out into different things they have to pay for each month and they are left with the spending money. Doing this will help the children realize how much money is left to last for the whole month. I really believe that if we follow the counsel from leaders of our church that we will be blessed. They give us this counsel for a reason, and it is because it will truly help us in our lives.