If you attempt to solve this problem using the lecture method, then you may just drive your spouse to spend more, thus resulting in more problems.

A more effective strategy to combat this problem is to keep track of household expenses.  Accountability for household expenses may be just enough to show your spouse the areas that need work, without really saying anything.

If this doesn’t work? Then the time has come to get separate bank accounts.  And if your spouse’s spending is causing extreme stress on your household finances, then you may have to consider stronger measures.

Finally, you might consider lightening up a little. Marriage is one of life’s great blessings. If you think the occasional iToy is expensive, wait until you see how much a divorce costs.

More money may not be the answer as a recent trend around the globe is showing wealthy businessmen committing suicide due to the tough financial times.  Personally, I think it is very sad that so many men are defining themselves in such a way that without money they are completely useless to their families and to society in general.  Sure we all know that men tend to identify with being the bread winner and that is there primary role in most families, however isn’t it sad that these big wig executives are leaving behind wives and children without even so much as a second thought about.  Perhaps they only seem to have it all, but I can assure you that these children would have been better off to have a father in their lives, even if they had to live a meager lifestyle.  Someone to show them that when the going gets tough, the tough get going, and not check out.

I quite honestly am glad that I don’t have so much money that to be penniless would devastate me or cause me to kill myself.  I have my family and that is where my priorities lie.  Let’s focus on all that we do have in this life and not just the money, after all it is really just green paper…isn’t it?

In the past, I have always overextended for Christmas, coming out of the day in a hole and then spending most of January trying to get out of it.  I really thought that was normal, but this year, I stuck to a budget, and I can honestly say that I feel better going into Christmas than ever before.  I know that I still have a dime left and that I will be in good financial shape in the New Year.

People tend to over spend at Christmas, so that they can give to others, however, I can honestly say that I would not want a gift from anyone who was putting themselves in a hole to come up with a present for me.  I would much prefer a card or some cookies instead.  That would make me happier, and I am sure that no one on your list wants you to go into hock, just to present a cool present to them at the holidays.

Do yourself a favor, limit the gift giving to simple things, and what you will find is that you will enjoy the holidays much more than you ever have before.  I know I will.

You hop online to check your bank account, just like you do on a regular basis, but the screen says sorry we are experiencing technical difficulties, and you can’t check to see if your direct deposit is in your account. So you try this over and over again, but still it doesn’t work. Still trying to find out if your deposit has come in, you now try to call the bank’s 1-800 number, and when you call you receive a recording that says “sorry this service is not available at this time”. So you shoot up to the local ATM machine to check your balance, and it is Temporarily Out of Service. Now let me ask you a question, do you think “wow, there computers must be on the fritz” or do you think to yourself “I wonder if my bank went out of business”? Well, I have encountered computer glitches on several occasions, but when this scenario happened to me last week, I started to think that maybe my bank had gone under and my money was gone. Unfortunately, with all the hype and focus on the state of the economy, you can’t help but keep these worries in the back of your mind. Even when you think that they aren’t seeping in, they probably are. One way to keep things in check is to read your news instead of getting it over the airwaves. Although, they can still put a spin on it, it is a little less traumatizing to read it in print then to listen to it. Then if you read something and you are unclear about what was said you can go back and reread it. When you hear it, it is in a fleeting moment and then it is gone, sometimes leaving you unsure as to what you just heard. Also, tone and inflection can play a big role in how you interpret what is being said, and in the paper they are less likely to influence you in this way.

Don’t feel alone, we are all feeling the heat. Try to do things to keep yourself calm and realize that either way we will make it through this difficult time, as have many who have come before us, we will persevere.

With financial times being difficult more and more people will turn to crime, drugs, alcohol. More and more people will go to counseling and get divorced and my question is still why? Have we become a society so driven by the dollar that without it we will just crumble? The answer to that is very simply yes.

While some of us are just worrying about how we are going to make ends meet and pay for the essentials to sustain our families, some of us are actually in a worse financial situation. The rich will feel this financial crunch too, because unlike the poor in this country, who realize that we will just have to generate more income to survive, the rich, who have based their existences primarily on the stock market, the real estate market, and credit cards and loans, will probably be hit even harder than the poor. The lifestyle changes that they will need to undergo to survive this rocky road, will be a much bigger adjustment for them. They will have to give up living on credit and will have to find ways of generating an income through the necessity avenues in this country. They will have to find ways to invest money now in businesses that will be able to survive the financial rough patch, and that could be difficult for many wealthy people.

If you are worried about the financial future of your family, then take action now to sustain your family, we can live without a lot of what we have, we just need to begin to realize the difference between true necessity items and luxury items.