In his book "Till Debt Do Us Part," Poduska talks about different styles of managing money as related to birth order. As a first born I could relate to some of the things he said about how first born people handle money. First borns like to be in control, they are high achievers, they like to set budgets, they spend money thoughtfully, and they do not spend money spontaneously. I can be all of these things, but I like to spend money so I don't always stick to the budget that I had spent so much time drafting and sometimes I give in to purchases that I should have spent more time thinking about. I can justify those purchases in my mind because I am not going into debt, but that is just a rationalization because when I don't stick to the budget, I am slowing down progress on my actual financial goals.
My husband is also the first born in his family and he is more disciplined with money, but he trusts me to create the budget for us. We do not fight for control over our finances. I know that everything I earn belongs to our family unit (we are still waiting for my husband's work permit before he can start working.) We talk about our goals often, I am open with our finances and we each get equal say in how our money is managed.
We are big Dave Ramsey fans so we follow his principles (kinda, I need to stick to the budget), and we feel like his principles are very closely aligned to how the Lord would want us to manage our finances.
Poduska's chapter helped me see what my strengths and weaknesses are according to my birth order and has helped me recommit and refocus on our goals.
What is one way you and your spouse work on money goals together?
