Shopping Trip

Kristen was very excited when she got home and couldn’t wait to tell me about her shopping trip. She began pulling out what seemed like an endless line of bags from numerous stores. With each bag came a new story of how much money she saved and what great deals she found. It was like a kid after Halloween going through their candy one by one. Each tag had a red line slashed through it, but I wasn’t seeing the savings and discounts quite like she was. I saw red alright but it was anger and frustration. I was looking at the total amount of money spent, while she was looking at the total amount of money saved. To say we were not on the same page was an understatement. The rest of the day was not very fun for either one of us as harsh words, obvious disagreements and the silent treatment prevailed.

What had gone so terribly wrong? I wanted Kristen to go shopping, she needed to go and get a break from the kids and have some fun. We just never actually sat down and communicated how much extra money we had for her trip. She thought if it was on sale and a good deal she could get it. I assumed she knew our budget was limited and would be somewhat frugal in her spending. We were both way-off. A horrible evening could have been prevented with some communication. Can anyone relate?

Becoming unified can be very simple if you take the time to communicate and discuss your finances; unfortunately, it took many years for us to accomplish this goal. We had always assumed the end result would be restrictive and suffocating, when in reality it turned out to be very freeing. Talking about our budget, expectations, hopes and dreams helped us direct our money instead of it directing us. We prioritized things that were important and let go of what wasn’t. Kristen says shopping trips are much more fun now as she enjoys coming home as much as she likes going out.

It turns out that money and possessions are an important topic to God too as the bible addresses it nearly 800 times. He knows money has the ability to unite or divide us and it can either bring us closer to God or farther from him too. Are you going to be in control of your money, or let the money be in control of your marriage?

1 Timothy 6:10 ~ For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.