Restarting Financial Communication With My Wife

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Communication is key between people in a relationship who manage their finances together. Over time people may become less conscientious about staying on the same financial page with each other. My wife and I realized this had happened to us, which stimulated discussions on how to best reopen the channels of communication. Our financial communication now consists of  three major parts: Income / Bill Paying We have a bimonthly income and bill cycle. On the first and fifteenth of each month we talk about the income that came in, and the bills that are paid. We both know how much […] Read more »

How to Become a Stay at Home Mom (or Dad!)- 16 Tips to Get Started

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How to Become a Stay at Home Mom (or Dad!)- 16 Tips

Becoming a stay at home mom ( SAHM ) or dad is an important decision a lot of families struggle with.  Making the decision to stay at home with the kids while the other spouse works takes plenty of consideration and planning if you really want to make it a blessing for your family. If you don’t consider the advantages and disadvantages of staying home with the kids, you can very quickly end up stressed, unhappy and broke! How to Become a Stay at Home Mom (or Dad)! That’s where this post comes in! Below I’ll show you everything you […] Read more »

Having Money Doesn’t Guarantee A Happy Marriage

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My wife and I have had our share of arguments about money. Especially during the four and a half years that we were paying down our credit card debt and our budget was extremely tight. Like many people, I would frequently think about how much happier I would be if we had more money. It’s hard not to agree with the thought that money could buy happiness now that we have a significant amount of extra funds given we no longer have a huge debt payment each month. I admit that our marriage and life in general seems much easier […] Read more »

The Magic Bullet To Combining Finances Successfully

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I knew the minute I finished the sentence that someone would comment on it, and I was right.  In my post last week describing an afternoon at a food and wine event I mentioned that I bought two bottles of BBQ sauce, but not before checking in with my wife first. I wanted my wife’s approval before buying $12 of BBQ sauce. I didn’t expect her to disapprove of the purchase.  As the commenter articulated, it was simply an act of respect.  We are a quad income family (we each have two sources of income), but we choose to combine […] Read more »

Paying Off Debt Will ROCK My Marriage

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“Should we stop and get the ladies flowers?” suggested the friend I was car pooling with as we pulled into town. The beaming smile on her face told me that Vonnie was very appreciative of the bouquet of flowers I brought her after being out of town for a few days. Relationships are hard work. You need to show your love and appreciation on a daily basis, as well as put their needs before your own. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. These are things I do willingly and joyfully without even thinking about them. When you love someone, […] Read more »

My New “Celebrating Financial Freedom” Course!

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Celebrating financial freedom online get out of debt course

If you’ve been following my posts here on EOD for a while now, you may know that I offer a popular Christian get out of debt course that I’ve taught at various venues over the years. The course has always been offered in a physical version with a workbook and CD’s. I’ve been asked many times if I have the course available in an online format, and I’ve always had to say “no”. But not anymore. You Can Win Access to the Course for Free!  (Continue Reading)   You Asked, I’m Making it Happen Over the last few months, I’ve […] Read more »

What the Check Engine Light Taught Me about Myself, My Finances, and My Relationship With My Wife

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“I’m not happy with you, by the way,” Vonnie stated in a matter of fact tone. “You can’t keep things from me like that. You know that.” Driving north through Iowa on our way home from St. Louis, the check engine light remained illuminated on the dashboard of our rental car, reminding me of my mistake. It started a few days earlier during our 4 day trip to St. Louis when we had asked the valet at our hotel to retrieve our rental car so we could get some paperwork out of the car. I sat down in the drivers […] Read more »

Couples Debt: Is it a Deal Breaker?

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Good morning Enemy of Debt readers.  My name is Kristina and I am the blogger over at Dinks Finance.  Today the EOD team was gracious enough to let me chat with you about debt, commitment and marriage. I am thankful for the opportunity and I look forward to spending the morning with you. Dinks Finance is a blog for couples about couples regarding everything related to money.  I have been with my boyfriend for almost 14 years, we started dating as a two broke teenagers in college – now at 32 and 33 years old we are both successful professionals. […] Read more »

In Finances, Fitness and Life, Together We Stand, Divided We Fail

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Over the weekend Vonnie and I watched the movie “This is 40″ with a group of friends.   I won’t give away many of the details of the movie for those who haven’t seen it yet, but the plot revolves around the fact that the two main characters are about to reach that milestone age of 40. The movie focuses on the changes that go on in people’s lives as they move into middle age, and their reaction to those changes.  I cannot confirm or deny that both Vonnie and I may or may not be reaching this milestone age […] Read more »