This post is brought to you by Haven Life.
My husband, Mal, and I aren’t financial experts by any means, but we’re pretty good with our money. Mal is a successful teacher, and I’ve been fortunate enough to form an amazing career by having Carrots ‘N’ Cake. We definitely consider ourselves lucky.
But, a big part of why we live a good life is because we make decisions to ensure peace of mind in our household. Part of that is making sure we are on the right financial path.
For my regular readers, you know I don’t normally talk about money or similar “intimidating” topics often, but the Haven Life team has a tendency to try and bring me out of my shell with more personal topics. Here’s the thing though – I don’t think talking about money or celebrating your monetary successes or good choices should be such a taboo topic. In fact, I think it’s one that can enrich our lives and help us all do better!
I think many of my readers have embarked on the same life stages as I have. They’ve gotten married, had a child (or many!), and bought homes or taken on large home renovations. So I want you all to know about some of the decisions we’ve made to create financial peace of mind in our house. And I welcome you to share the ones you’ve made (below in the comment section) to help enrich us all.
Mal and I work together as a team to manage our money. We have similar views on our finances, so we’re both involved in the decision-making process and sharing this responsibility definitely makes us stronger as a couple. Read the full post here.
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10 Comments
Great article. Are you planning on any more kids in the future? I know that’s a huge expense to weigh the options with.
Great advice! I know for me I have to weigh in my medical expenses as I have AVN. It’s so important to consider that as medical costs rise or should I say be completely off the charts out of control? Haha
One thing we do is to contribute our raises to either our retirement account or a savings account. For example if we get a 3% raise we could increase our 401k contribution by that amount. We figure we lived well before the raise so we can continue to live within our means as if we didn’t get the raise which just increases our savings.
We made a decision a long time ago to live off one income and save the second. That way we are always comfortable with our bills and know we have a savings and emergency fund with the second income. Saving even the smallest amount can really add up. It is surprising how people want more just because they have a larger income when that often brings stress.
Great article. With a new baby on the way, I think that making better financial choices and planning for the future is something major that I have to sit and figure out!
Just read your article on Haven Life. I thought it was wonderful and full of great advice. My fiance and I are about to embark on a savings adventure (both for our wedding and then the rest of our lives) and I shared your article with him. I think developing a financial plan as early as possible is a wonderful idea, and I love how both of you make financial decisions & work toward your many goals. It’s very inspiring. Thanks for sharing!
Ah, I feel terrified about money and taxes daunt me. I’m financially secure as is but still finances are challenging! Reading this made me feel much better though! thanks for the peace of mind! 😀
We started on the Dave Ramsey plan a few years ago and it has been awesome for us. The #1 thing that has helped us save money and pay off almost all of our debt is to make a budget every single month and stick to it! Telling our money where to go instead of wondering where it went!
I agree with your points – live within (below) your means and save for retirement. I have always contributed the maximum to my 403b and to do so I had to live below my means. Other advice – put a little more toward your mortgage each month; it has an amazing effect on your principal. My husband and I paid off our 15-year mortgage in 11 years. Ways we live below our means: limit eating out, use RedBox and the library, make your own coffee and pack your own lunch…and don’t lease cars (I have always bought used cars outright). It sounds boring, but now we have extra money for regular international travel and can help our college age nieces and nephews. And we won’t have to worry about retirement (as long as the markets don’t tank!)
I think it’s great you work as a team on this as women are usually less confident than me when it comes to investments and it seems that often women just leave it all for their other halves to deal with, we should all take an interests in OUR money. I recently wrote a blog post about it. Good luck with the future!