Are you hiding debt from your spouse or partner? Financial infidelity has a high price to pay. In an article for the Calgary Herald, I wrote about married couples who hide debt — big or small.
For some couples, discovering that their partner has been hiding debt from them is as devastating as discovering that their partner has committed adultery. The size of the debt often doesn't correlate to whether or not the couple can survive the betrayal.
If you're hiding debt from your partner, it's time to confess. Sit down and determine exactly how much debt you have. Know the interest rate, and make a proposed plan for paying it off. Then set aside a time to talk to your partner and be completely honest about what you've done. Take responsibility for your actions and involve them in the solution.
Whether or not you suspect your partner is hiding debt from you, all couples should request their credit report annually (you can do so for free at equifax.ca), and review them together for errors. If your partner resists, have a frank discussion about why they don't want to request their report. If you know or discover that you're married to a Money Moron, you can even apply for Gail Vaz-Oxlade's new television show, now casting.
Like this post? You might like Request and Read Your Credit Score or What is Mad Money?
Today’s Parent blogger Tracy Chappell recently posted about how gift giving at Easter is on the rise, referring to a Globe & Mail article about that quotes a Toys “R” Us spokeswoman as saying Easter is the second biggest holiday of the year for gift-giving, next to Christmas.
Well, of course a big toy company is going to want us parents to think everyone else is giving their kids loads of toys for Easter, and we should all get to the store to do the same!
In the same article, Yummy Mummy Club blogger Caroline Fernandez says she gives presents instead of treats for Easter, continuing a long-standing tradition in her family. I hold an Easter egg hunt for my kids with the neighbours, and they get a few pieces of chocolate in the hunt. At home, the Easter bunny leaves a small chocolate bunny and a basket with activity treats – new markers or a skipping ropes and if they’re needed, a new pair of sneakers.
Caroline offers five easy candy-free Easter treat ideas to give to your kids this year. I think they’re all great ideas, and encourage you to pick one or two.
If we want to raise gracious, grateful children, we must stop bombarding them with every little thing their hearts desire simply because corporations are telling us to do so, or in a misguided attempt to give them the things we wish we had been given as a child.
Wishing you a fantastic Easter full of joyful time with your loved ones.
Like this post? You might like Time to Talk Allowances or Beware Group RESP Plans.
Get hopping with even more ways to help you with your Easter entertaining, get crafty with your kids, and celebrate chocolate.
Did you grow up poor? In a must-read blog post from Cracked, writer John Cheese outlines his list of five stupid financial habits you develop as a result of growing up poor.
I related to a lot of them. In fact, they all hit pretty close to home for me.
Luckily, I’ve managed to break the cycle and get rid many of the bad habits I developed by growing up without money to spare. Though I thought we were poor at the time, I look back and see we weren’t “really” poor—we were never destitute or on the streets, and we had a solid support system that did step in to help when we needed it most. But at the time, it sure felt like we were broke.
Last week I needed batteries for one of my daughter’s toys. I went to the kitchen, opened the cupboard, dug out the battery box, and sorted through to find the right size. In doing so, I had a revelation that was pretty earth-shattering to me. We’re not poor anymore.
In university, when my husband and I managed to get our degrees with almost no debt (and little contribution from our parents), we still managed to scrape up the cash for the occasional concert or pint in the campus pub. Yet we still felt poor. Money was always tight—there was always something more important every dollar could have been going to instead of that pint.
Today, we’ve set ambitious goals for how we want to spend our 40s, 50s, and beyond. Because of that, we face the pressure of knowing the $60 we spent on dinner out or on a new pair of jeans could have gone to a loftier purpose. So despite making many times over what I made in our university days, and despite having been to countries where our poor would be their wealthy, in my gut I’ve still felt “poor.”
But standing there, staring at a box of brand-new batteries in all sizes, more than you could realistically need before you could get to a grocery store, made me feel rich. I didn’t have to scrounge around the house, looking for batteries. I didn’t have to steal the batteries from another electronic gadget. I had an embarrassment of batteries.
That $60 worth of batteries made me feel richer than I did when I bought my house or my car or my first expensive pair of sunglasses.
What have you experienced that made (or still makes) you feel “poor” or “rich” when you know neither label is a truly accurate representation of your financial situation?
Did you enjoy this blog post? You might like Where Is Your Money Going? or Extreme Couponing.
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