Money doesn’t buy you happiness, so the adage goes. Yet money does buy you material comfort and peace of mind, which in today’s consumerist world is increasingly important.
Money troubles are a major cause of marital problems, either because of conflicting attitudes to finance or a lack of ready cash and mounting debts. There is little more stressful than having to worry about how to pay the next family bill.
The current “credit crunch” is likely to affect a growing
number of households in
If the home you and your partner have created together is threatened with repossession, it could put your relationship under a great of strain. You might find yourself blaming your other half for not earning enough or working hard enough; you may question whether money has been misspent and if you’d saved a bit harder maybe you wouldn’t be in this mess.
When the economic chips are down, it’s easy to get angry and resentful with your spouse and perhaps put all the blame at their door: such emotions are caused by fear and are entirely natural.
Nevertheless, they’re not hugely helpful, because if you’re not careful, you’ll end up losing your marriage as well as, possibly, your home. If you are in this situation and can see your relationship foundering as a result, try to set aside any negative feelings towards your spouse and concentrate instead on finding a viable solution. Focus on the fact that you and your spouse are in this together and that, wherever you end up living or however much you need to tighten your money belts, at least you’ll be together.
Focus, too, on the idea that “two can live more cheaply than one”; if you’re in dire straits already, think how much harder it would be to have to foot all the bills yourself.
The important thing is not to get everything out of proportion. Yes, the prospect of losing your house is a grim one, but at the end of the day, what really matters are people and relationships – not bricks and mortar.