The ABCs of Controlling Your Spouse’s Spending

You stick carefully to your budget, save diligently and and are frugal in every way you can be. Your partner, however, is another story. All of your hard work can be erased by a DVD here, a night out on the town there, and it’s infuriating. But all is not lost: it’s never too late to change your money habits, and you can get a good start by following our ABCs of spending control.

• Allowance: If your partner can’t handle setting limits, make one for them. Take control of managing your family’s finances, then dole out a weekly or monthly amount that your partner can use for discretionary spending.
• Bargain for deals: Strike a bargain with your spouse by enticing him or her with a treat if they control their spending. This will allow them to see the value of what money can buy when it’s put to a purpose with aim.
• Cook at home: Meals away from home are a major drain on resources, and your spouse may not even realize how much they spend on food. Send him or her to work with a home-made lunch.
• Design suitable distractions: Your spouse may spend money simply due to boredom. Sign them up for a cooking class, sports league, or social group. This way, they’ll be happier and have less time to wander aimlessly around the mall.
• Expend some energy: If your spouse is uncontrollable during necessary shopping excursions, make it a point to go along and curtail frivolous purchases.
• Freeze those credit cards: Desperate times call for desperate measures-put those credit cards on ice! If they can’t make it into your spouse’s wallet, they can’t be used.
• Goals: Teach your spouse the joy and necessity of saving for a rainy day. Set savings goals that both of you can attain together, and plan rewards for staying on target.
• Hunger is expensive: Ensure that your spouse does not go shopping when hungry, or everything that looks good will find its way into the cart.
• Impulse buys are for those with money to burn: Control purchases made on a whim. The best way to do this is to ask your spouse to wait a day or two before making a major purchase so that a rational decision can be made.
• Joint accounts do not work in such situations: It’s better to maintain separate accounts, with a limited balance available to the spendthrift.
• Keep track of where your money goes: Your spouse may try to justify expenditures or lead you astray with false information to prevent an argument. It’s up to you to keep tabs on where and how your hard-earned money is being spent, so you can rein in your spouse when set limits are exceeded.
• Lead by example: It’s just not going to work if you try to control your spouse’s spending, but you still go on spending sprees. Show your partner how to be economical by limiting your expenses.
• Too far in debt: You must know when you are too far in debt and just are not going to recover. For this you will need expert advice. We recommend speaking with this Las Vegas Bankruptcy Lawyer today.
• Money is valuable: Tally up your spouse’s frivolous expenses and ask them to consider what else could have been bought with that money: a well-earned vacation, down payment on a home, or even a car.
• Neighbor-watching is out: If your spouse is the type who likes to keep up with the Joneses, you’d better watch out. If your neighbor buys the latest plasma television, you can bet your last dollar that a bigger and better model will somehow work its way to your living room. Be sure that your spouse does not fall into this trap.
• Overlooking smaller purchases is a mistake: It’s worth just a dollar or two, so it doesn’t matter that your spouse bought something totally unnecessary, right? Wrong! It’s the small molehills that add up to form a mountain of debt. Control your spouse’s unwarranted spending, even if it’s just a small amount.
• Paying cash is a good thing: Make sure your spouse pays for purchases only with cash. They’ll be restricted to use only the amount of money they have on hand.
• Question expenses: If your spouse has a spending problem, It’s OK to ask where all of the money goes. Once your partner realizes they’ll have to account for every single penny spent, frivolous spending should go down.
• Rein in your spouse’s spending power: If your partner is difficult to control, visit the places you know he or she frequents and ask them to stop doing business with your spouse.
• Sales are still spending: Sales, bargains, and discounts are tempting, but when you’re spending money unnecessarily, it doesn’t matter what a deal it is. Help your spouse to avoid falling into this trap.
• Turn off the television: While watching TV, your spouse will be bombarded with ads for products that you "absolutely must have." Help to control their temptation by avoiding these ads altogether.
• UUnhappiness plays a role: If your spouse is unhappy, he or she could be compensating with compulsive spending. Try cheering your partner up and see the change.
• Veto spending habits: Lay down the spending rules with an authoritative air. Sometimes, that’s the only way to make sure your partner learns good money habits.
• Window shopping works wonders: Encourage your spouse to go window shopping, leaving money at home. It’s an imaginary purchase exercise that provides a fair amount of pleasure at zero cost.
• Exercise restraint: Sometimes, it’s better to be understanding and help them through the problem instead of ranting and raving every time your spouse spends some money.
• Yo-yo spending patterns hurt: If your normally spendthrift spouse has been good for a while, don’t rejoice too soon. Compulsive spenders can relapse any moment, just like drug or alcohol addicts. Watch out for this pattern and continue to be supportive.
• Zero in on the cause: Your spouse may be recklessly spending money not due to poor money management, but to get back at you for something. If that’s the case, it’s time to apologize and get your marriage back on track.

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