HOW TO TALK ABOUT MONEY WITH YOUR SPOUSE

Do you feel like you can’t talk about money with your spouse? When you try, does it seem like you’re speaking 2 different languages?

Everyone grows up believing certain ideas about money. Some grow up thinking having debt is normal. Others are raised around strict budgeting. Beliefs like these can conflict and bring 2 entirely different paradigms into the home.

When dealing with conflicts in a household’s finances, the goal is unity, not victory. When you choose unity with your spouse, you increase your strength by teaming up together. You accomplish much more than you ever could by yourself.

Here’s a simple analogy of how this works.

A draft horse is a massive, deep-chested animal that can weigh 1000s of pounds. With one of these, you can get a lot done, but when you have 2 or more, you can achieve the impossible.

I once heard a story about 2 pairs of draft horses. The first pair had a combined weight of 4800 pounds and together pulled 17,000 pounds—over 8 tons! That’s 3 and 1/2 times their weight.

The second pair had a combined weight of 3600 pounds. They were smaller but pulled 14,600 pounds—more than 4 times their weight.

That’s the synergistic power of unity. You and your spouse can replicate this when working toward a similar goal.

Don’t allow the enemy to steal your hope. The next time you face a financial disagreement, remember: go after unity. When you work together, you can achieve 3 to 4 times what you can individually. You’ll be amazed at how much you can accomplish.