Our Valentine's Day celebration got off to a rough start when we began discussing finances. Since we got married a little over a year ago, we have been struggling to join our finances together and stick to a budget. With Eric on 2nd shift, and me on 1st, at times we can act like we are still single, making large purchases without consulting one another. Our little fight this particular morning was about whether taking out loans and having a credit score was good. I've recently taken to listening to Dave Ramsey, and my husband came from a much different family background than I did in terms of spending. Since I have nearly $40,000 in student loans and I believe in Dave Ramsey's plan, I believe that debt is horrible. This feeling has gotten worse as we have moved toward becoming parents because my debt will hold me back from being a stay-at-home mom. He feels that debt is the reason that we are where we are today, and that we would be in a bad position if we did not have the debt for the reasons we do. In any case, we ended up talking it out and agreeing on what we would do with money in the future regardless of what we have done with money in the past.
We decided to skip our lunch plans, go home, and sit down to figure out our budget. We wrote out our expenses for the month and the minimum amount of income we made per month. We were happy to find that we have about $345 at the end of the month that we can throw at our debt. Unfortunately, up till now we have not been using this money to pay for the debt. Going forward, we are excited to use this money, along with any extra money we make from overtime, tutoring, or essential oils to kick our debt out of our lives.
Looking at our debts, made us really consider whether we were ready to have a family or not. At 25 and 26, we have plenty of time to start a family. However, my husband does want a baby before he is 30 and I would like to have a large family, God willing. After some discussion, we decided that we would keep on the path that we are currently on. It may mean that I won't be able to stay home full time with our first baby, but if we really work at our finances, I will be able to stay home with the babies that follow. We decided that we did not need to work on getting pregnant like we were desperate for a baby, but simply follow the doctors instructions and focus on getting healthy in mind, body, spirit, and finances. I am so grateful for the times that we have together to discuss these things.
How do you handle finances with your spouse? If you are a stay-at-home mom, how do you make that work financially?
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