What to Do About Your Family’s Money Problems?

Families and finances – there’s a topic close to our hearts. It comes as no surprise that the bigger your family, the more pressure it is going to apply to your budget. Of course, there are ways to make things work provided you are ready to do whatever it takes to curtail expenditure and pitch in for the common good.

Everyone is bound to face challenges at one point or another. It’s how you meet these challenges that determine your success or failure as a family unit. Various studies have been conducted over the years, and the underlying problem with married couples that end up divorcing is money. It’s not so much how much money or how little money there is, it’s the attitude to money.

So, What Are the Main Issues That Affect Family Finances Today?

There are essentially two types of people: savers and spenders. Since savers eschew wanton expenditure on frivolous items, lavish entertainment, expensive vacations, and the like they are bound to lock horns with spenders. The latter category of people enjoy living it up, living beyond their means, and not worrying about how things will be paid for.

Whether you have two spenders or two savers as the head of the family, or a combination thereof, it’s important to formulate a plan to avoid an unhappy outcome in your personal finances and family life. When a spender and a saver get married, the spender may hide purchases from the saver, and the saver may impose a strict set of rules on the spender. This will lead to conflict if it is not managed properly. Communication is the only way to ensure peace in the home.

According to various polls that have been conducted, the biggest dilemma that families face today is money problems. This simply isn’t enough money to go around. Put differently, US households are spending more than they are making. When you live beyond your means, you invAriably place many additional burdens on your shoulders.

The stress of not being able to meet these financial obligations spills over into your personal life, work life, and social interactions. In families, health care is vital. This is especially true with children, parents, and grandparents. If your family is relatively healthy, you may wish to opt for a health care plan with a high deductible and a low monthly premium. Either way, you want to be covered in case of a medical emergency

Workable Solutions for Families Facing Money Problems

The first thing to do when you notice a tightening of money flow is to curtail expenditure. An earnest discussion between all family members is the best way to get this done. Gather the husband or wife, the kids, and the extended family and talk to them about how best to save on everyday expenses like energy usage, water utilization, food, entertainment costs, transport and other expense items. The sit-down session should not be an exercise in futility; constructive solutions should be promoted and innovative ideas should be encouraged.

For example, instead of hiring landscapers to clean the yard, kids could be given a stipend to help with the outside chores. Part-time jobs are always a great idea for teenagers, and this money could be used to help defray some of the costs that the parents are currently responsible for. If possible, it may be necessary to take on additional work hours for the short-term to medium-term.

Another idea is a credit loan option to help you meet short-term debt problems. Before you pooh-pooh this option, consider that debt consolidation loans are a great way to reduce your interest repayments on outstanding credit card debt. Not only do you pay less every month, you actually save money in the process. This can go towards paying down the principal amount of your debt.

All of these sacrifices are designed to make the future better than the present. Without changing the current reality, money problems will only get worse. The rule of thumb is to pay down debt as quickly as possible. This is especially true of high-interest credit card debt, personal loans, business loans, automobile loans etc.

Dealing with Debt: Be Sensitive to Your Family’s Needs

Many families are heavily indebted in the US today. That doesn’t mean that you need to take on these crushing debt burdens in your own family. Start to reverse the trend by tackling debt directly. Of course, things could be complicated if you have recently experienced job loss. This will place additional pressures on your spouse or partner and may require you to take on additional work responsibilities to bring in income to defray some of the expenses. This invAriably leads to tension in the family since one person is responsible for bearing the collective burden. Remember not to apportion blame on anyone in this situation because nobody likes to feel that they are responsible for the family’s current difficulty.

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