Improve Communication With Your Spouse In Order To Tackle Household Bills

1 June 2016
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If communication with your spouse has currently been suffering, due to past discussions concerning each other's spending habits and shortages of cash that are often encountered when bills are due, the following tips may help. The ideas will encourage you both to speak to each other with respect so that you can tackle the problem at hand in a cohesive manner and feel more optimistic about the future.

Counseling Sessions

Ask your partner if they would be interested in attending marriage counseling sessions with you to discuss the financial woes that both of you are facing. A counselor will prompt each of you to speak honestly at separate times and will encourage the other person to listen without interjecting. Once you both have had a chance to speak, the counselor may be able to offer some sound advice that will help the situation, such as receiving assistance from a credit counselor, consolidating bills, or eliminating frivolous expenses. Contact a marriage counseling company like Associates For Counseling & Psychotherapy to learn more. 

Joint Budgeting Effort

Create a list of bills that need to be paid each month, alongside your spouse and agree upon an amount that you can both comfortably set aside without struggling to pay for unexpected incidentals, such as a new tire for your vehicle or medicine in case one of you get sick. List the bills in order of importance and keep track of the dates that each one is due.

If you both contribute an even amount towards the expenses that are associated with keeping your household running, neither one of you will feel short-changed and you both may feel more apt to encourage each other to work hard towards each goal. Once goals are met, you may feel closer to one another and be willing to openly discuss the following month's game plan without animosity.

Rainy Day Fund

Set up a rainy day fund container that will allow you and your spouse to treat yourselves to a good time if all of the household bills have been paid before or on their due date. Use an empty box or small bank to hold extra cash. You and your partner can place extra money inside of the container after being paid. 

Treat the rainy day fund as an option that does not have to be utilized if extra money is not available. If you and your mate meet your goals and extra money is available, you will be able to relax and unwind while spending time together in an enjoyable setting. The special event may also help you both reconnect and feel closer to each other.

Practice using these tips regularly to assist with strengthening communication with your partner and overcoming financial obstacles that were previously hindering both of you.