Winning
Financial Info
by
Gary Foreman
Hubby
and I are a young couple with 3 children. My husband is hard working - 2 jobs and
I am a stay at home mom. Things have gotten better over the years for us from where
we first started out in life together but now that our children are growing older
and we got a bigger house = higher rent and his work at his full time job has slowed
down (no overtime), things have been getting tight. I have a busted windshield in
my SUV and dead inspection for months on end now and my hubby's car is on its last
leg. He has a court date comming up in 2 weeks because our car insurence lapsed. So
now we'll more than likely have a huge fine we'll have to come up with money to pay.
Our electric is about to be turned off and rent is comming due next week. I do grocery
shopping on Fridays and here it is Friday and hubby says he has no money for me to
get food and things the kids need, once again... this is becoming a frequent thing.
My SUV is on the verge of getting repoed if we don't pay them by the end of the month.
My husband is in almost cronic pain with neck and back problems caused by the strenuious
work he does. We have insurance but he's afraid to push the issue with fear of losing
his job. I cannot work because I have a 2 year old daughter. I have no one to watch
her and 2 boys to pick up from school each day at 2:30. My husband won't let me help
to set up a budget for us and control finances. He says there's nothing to budget,
money comes in money goes out. If he can swing it he gives me a little when he can
to get food or diapers but that's about it. I feel so powerless to help our financial
situation. I have managed to put back $1100 from income tax return money which has
now dwindled down to $500 but I have been hanging on to it for dear life because I
hate to see it go. It's all I got and so many places it could be used. Do you have
any suggestions that would help me? Thank you.
Signed,
Powerless
"Powerless"
has certainly given herself the right name. Given the current situation she is pretty
powerless to do much to help their finances. But, she's not alone. Her husband is
powerless, too!
Right
now there is no one who can help this family. The reason is simple. No one has enough
information to know what the problem is.
Based
on Powerless' story we'd have to believe that her husband is a hard-worker. It's also
clear that they're behind in their bills.
The
key part of Powerless' story is that her husband is unwilling to create a budget.
I can understand why he's reluctant. He's probably already feeling closed in by the
bills. He doesn't need someone or something telling him what he cannot do. He's got
enough of that already.
But,
he's wrong about what a budget does. A budget doesn't control spending. You control
your spending. A budget is just a tool to tell you where you are spending money and
whether your income is higher than your expenses. It's really just a diagnostic tool.
Nothing more.
Right
now there could be a number of different reasons why Powerless doesn't have money
to buy food for her children.
Previous
bills (think credit cards or personal loans) may be taking a large portion of their
income. In that case, credit counseling or bankruptcy might be the best solution.
Their
car payments could be too high relative to their income. Then the solution would be
to trade to something with lower payments.
Hubby
might be spending money before it comes into the house. We have to believe that Powerless'
mate is doing his best for the family. But, he wouldn't be the first person to struggle
with addictions or bad habits that consume his paycheck.
Or it
could be that he just doesn't make enough. Powerless might need to find a job in the
evenings or create a way to make some money from home.
Based
on Powerless' email, you'd have to assume that they're in pretty deep. Not the kind
of situation where an extra few dollars each month would solve the problem. It would
appear that only something significant could ease the continual financial pain.
So Powerless
has a choice. She can collect enough financial data to determine what to do to fix
their finances. Or she can continue to face a slowly worsening financial situation.
It might
be hard convincing Hubby to go along. Perhaps if he can see that a budget isn't a
straightjacket, but rather a tool that he can use to solve the situation he'll be
willing to give it a shot.
Keep
on Stretchin' those Dollars!
Gary
Gary
Foreman is the editor of The Dollar Stretcher.com website and
enewsletters including Financial
Independence. Financial Independence is designed to walk step-by-step with
you as you take control of your finances and achieve financial freedom! Visit the
site for more on how
to get the most from a budget.
