Last night while I was watching Mad Money, Jim Cramer said something which helped to slightly ease my worries about another Great Depression. He said we’re likely not heading into one.
However, the key word was “likely.” Even he’s not 100 percent sure where we’re headed yet. That’s why my mind was only slightly eased.
But as Cramer offered money and investing advice, I got to thinking about a couple of things. One was the movie Life is Beautiful. I loved how the main character found a way to make a game out of living in a concentration camp.
The other thing I thought about was a comment Jade left on a related article. She had pointed out that because money is one of those big issues that often leads to marriage strife, she suggested maybe I could list some ways to strengthen a marriage during hard financial times.
I’m still working on that list, but thanks to Cramer and the influence of an enthusiastic Italian Jew, I have a list of ways you can start financially preparing your marriage for what could prove to either be a deep recession or a bonafied depression.
1. Make a date to sit down and review your current finances.
This is especially necessary now if only one of you is responsible for paying the bills. You both should know what’s going out to where, why, and how often.
Unless you’re like Wayne and thrive on money matters, don’t think of it as a chore or budget meeting, though. It’s simply a time to review what it takes to financially run your household.
2. Play the treasure hunt game.
Challenge each other to see who can find the most treasure within your own home. How do you do this? You look at the expenses you pay every month that you could cut. (I’m thinking of the saying I noted the other day about mindsets during the Great Depression: “Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”) Here’s some examples of things you could do without:
* Cable. Maybe not cutting it out entirely but downgrading to free up some cash. It might inspire you to get out more. Or even institute fun nights like the Victorian one Mary Ann suggested recently over in Home.
* Lawn Service. Do you pay someone to mow your yard? What about to treat your grass? Unless you are either physically unable to do it or truly don’t have time to cut your own grass, this is an expense that could go. And a green lawn is wonderful, but if it could mean an extra $300-$600 in your pocket next year? If you really need cash you’ll know where to find it. Plus, Michele just wrote a great article about how getting off the couch even just a little bit more is good for you.
* Movies-in-your-mail services. Unless you’re an avid, five or more movie a week type movie viewer, cutting this expense and instead renting from your local library, or just paying as you go, could save you $140-$575 a year.
3. Institute a rewards system.
We can’t save, save, save, cut, cut, cut all the time. It could drive a person insane. (Or towards temptation as was the discussion on one of Dale’s blogs recently.)
Instead, make saving fun. Turn it into a game where the winner gets a reward. Sort of like what Wayne and I did with our weight loss challenge to determine where we’d go on vacation.
Set weekly, monthly, or quarterly goals. Whoever saves the most by not eating out, using coupons, or just by setting money aside the old fashioned way wins and gets a reward.
Rewards can be anything you want. Loser has to do certain chores for a day or week. You can spend 10 percent of whatever you saved on a shopping spree. Anything that will motivate you to want to win should be the reward that you designate as being up for grabs. And it doesn’t have to be the same reward for the both of you. He can be rewarded with one thing if he saves most and you can be rewarded with something else.
Courtney Mroch also writes in Pets and Marriage. For a full listing of her articles click here.
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