For The Love of Money

Money issues have the extraordinary potential of doing major damage to a marriage. There are a lot of deep-rooted feelings inside of us when it comes to our dough. I think it's because we get it in our head that money gives us the ultimate security in life. So, consequently, we tend to grip our money tightly. Or is it the other way around? Do you remember comedian Jack Benny's response to the robber who shoved a gun in his face and shouted, "Your money or your life?" (His answer: "I'm thinking, I'm thinking!")

Money is extremely personal to us. In fact, a lot of us were taught growing up that we were not to talk about money issues. That's unfortunate. Consequently, money causes lots of problems in many marriages and families--because there's so much to talk about in this area in order to keep a marriage and family healthy. This is another one of those key areas where temperament differences become so obvious. There are different approaches to money. In your marriage, who is a spender? Who is a saver? Who should be doing the books? Who has a natural talent for keeping records? What is our family's philosophy of recreation? What financial goals do we have for our children? What do we believe about retirement? And since nobody knows what each day will bring, it's important for both the husband and wife to know important information about the family's finances. You never know what can happen in a crisis. It's good to be prepared and not regretful later.

Since so many of us are not financial experts, it's good to know that there are folks out there that can help us. People that want to see families succeed with learning basics to guide them through the money maze....and not succumb to it. Two outstanding resources (there are others) to help you learn more about this extremely important subject are Dave Ramsey (www.daveramsey.com) and Crown Financial Ministries (www.crown.org). Both have helped thousands of families dodge the potential perils of debt and financial irresponsibility that can creep so subtly into a household.

We always have to remember that money is itself not a bad thing. It's the love of money that is at the root of so much evil. Actually, money is necessary for us to survive, to raise our families, even to bless others in certain tangible ways. Those that have money should be thankful and also be good stewards of what has been given to them. We've all heard that phrase, "You can't take it with you!" But I like what someone else came up with: "You hardly ever see a hearse pulling a U-Haul!"