By Samuel Rosenberg
WE, as individuals, are not all the same and approach financial spending and saving in a variety of ways. Some people have a tendency to consistently overspend while others are particularly frugal in their nature. Among couples, you may find one is a spender while the other is a saver. This can lead to anywhere between perfect harmony or complete financial mismanagement.
Only by understanding the pros and cons of being a spender, a saver, or a mixture of the two, can you begin to manage your habits correctly. With this knowledge, you can remain in control and devise a strategy which balances your financial future.
A single person will need to carefully look at their own spending habits to plan for the good and bad times ahead. It will be helpful to discuss your financial income and outgoings with a family member or friend, where you trust their opinion, because you cannot bounce your thoughts with another involved individual, like in a two person association.
A relationship of two people contains two personalities and potentially, two different sets of skills. Amazingly, for every couple where one can only prepare a toast, the other will probably complement the skills by providing gourmet meals from the kitchen. For every person who throws their used clothes on the floor, the other person in the partnership may be a great house organiser.
Recognising whether you spend or save is important for the future of the relationship. Problems after rows over money are often the early steps to the breakdown for a couple, married or not.
Where you are enjoying splurging with uncontrollable purchases, it would not be wise for you to own a credit card as you are most likely to take the funds up to the maximum limit in a short period of time.
Understanding your income and outgoings and implementing a strict budget regimen is vitally important whether you are a spender or a saver. The budget will force you to understand the amount of money that must be set aside to cover your regular bills as well as putting aside a suitable amount towards steady savings for future plans, which may include a new vehicle, land and property; perhaps planning to own your own business.
By carefully analysing your budget regularly, you will see where you are overspending and be able to make changes to your habits.
Your relationship will improve when you include full communication about your spending and saving habits and do not leave your partner to accidentally find out about actions that you have already taken – which might collapse your budget planning immediately.
Someone who only saves and does not spend may not enjoy their life because they will never own the latest gadgets, go out and have fun and live life to the full. Nevertheless, while a spender may appear to have more fun, they will quickly become stressed about their money situation, pending bankruptcy and cause significant problems when they hide the situation from their partner. Keeping secrets in the relationship is the key to make the relationship fail quickly.
Where you both understand and agree a budget, your own spend-and-save philosophy can be included in your planning. This means that you can look forward to years of fun, while carefully saving and both understanding your financial and emotional responsibilities in your partnership.