Many people do not pay enough attention to this issue. But in my opinion, for the harmonious development of family relations, spouses must organize household finances and, if possible, stick to a certain plan of their use. I know at least two common ways of doing family finances:
- The open one – you treat your budget as a one big pile of money, and you take away from that pile to suit your needs. In this case, one manages and distributes family finances, the second one takes a passive approach. Such a way of doing finances very often leads to all sorts of misunderstandings and disputes. In my opinion, this is not the best way of doing family finances.
- The closed one – it’s when he keeps all the money at home and gives his wife the necessary minimum according to his own understanding.
So, as it seems, whichever way we choose, some improvements can be implemented. Thus, today, I will give my thoughts on how to properly organize family finances in the best way possible.
The first step each family should take is to determine the family budget. At the same time, it is necessary to clearly separate family expenses and investments in the future.
Expenses allow a family to live a normal life. And here, the main thing is the family, not a husband or a wife. Personal needs are, most often, not included in expenses. Expenses are basic needs like food, paying taxes, and other necessities, that a family cannot avoid.
Investments are certain savings that the family makes to achieve a given goal. For example, to save enough money for a vacation in the summer, buying a house, a yacht, a refrigerator or a microwave. And here again, it is important that the goal or a product is needed for both spouses. The less personal are your needs, the better will it affect the family finances. For example, if he wants a yacht, and she is totally against it, then this is no longer the goal of the family, it is the goal of a husband.
Now, let's say you have determined that your necessary family budget should be $ 1,000. And now the fun begins, you need to determine who will get that money for the family.
Imagine a classic situation, he is working and she sits at home. Then it is quite logical that he is obliged to fill the family budget, and the wife must completely take care of all the household chores. If he wants to buy a brand new smartphone, computer, no problem - he must work more and earn it himself. However, this should not affect the family budget in any way. If she wants herself a new scarf, then no problem - she can buy it using her pocket money.
You may ask me, how does this differ from the above-described open and closed ways of doing family finances? After all, if you determine the family budget to be equal to his salary, it will be the same. The fact of the matter is that everyone should have an incentive to work and invest in a family. He should strive to increase his income, so that he would have more money for his hobbies and all that. She must understand that if she will reasonably distribute family finances, she can easily save enough money for a new pair of shoes. Otherwise, sooner or later the spouses will simply lose interest in the performance of their family duties.
