Money Matters in Marriage FEBRUARY 13, 2013 BY JOY T MENDOZA I am not a financial guru (thats so obvious), but my husband

seems to be esteemed as such because of his involvement as host for ANCs On the Money program. But Edric will also be the first to tell you that he is no expert. He is learning along the way, as he interviews businessmen, financial advisors, CEOs, and the like. Nevertheless, he gets invitations to give talks on personal finance. Yesterday, he invited me to join him to give a short testimony to break up his three hour seminar. I have said no to doing talks in this season of my life (well, I have to be very discriminating) because my commitments revolve around the home. But, when Edric asks me to be his side kick for seminars he has to give, I consider this part of my role as a wifeprioritizing my husband. So, I tagged along with him to a company that requested he give a 101 money talk that integrated family values. I am including my part of the intermission because his segment is paid formine is FREE! - Edric and I chose to get married young. We were crazy romantics like that. Well, as you all know, love does not put food on the table. Between Edrics corporate job and my PR work, we were making P40,000, which means we didnt have a lot of financial liberty. We started off very simply. I was very blessed to have a husband who liked to use a spreadsheet and make year long budget projections. So this is what he didpercentages, budget allocations, monitoring of our spending patterns etc. Admittedly, I had no idea what it meant to keep a budget. My mom didnt have to stick to a budget or so it seemed, so I thought that it was normal to be able to spend indiscriminately. She wasnt an extravagant person so I wasnt either. She never splurged on designer bags or shoes. My parents were not the type to buy heirloom watches or jewelry either. They invested in travel, land, properties, and businesses. It wasnt until I was in college that I realized how much people spend on designer clothing, bags, watches, shoes, and the like. Fortunately, because my siblings and I were not brought up to have an appetite for such things we didnt mind not having it later on either. (My mom still shops at the tiange and gets compliments for her clothing without people realizing that she spends less than 1,000 pesos for most of what she wears! I love this about her.) Going back to the early years of marriage, I wasnt a major shopper but I didnt have a concept of what it means to plan for your expenses. It was a foreign concept to me. And this is why I needed a husband like Edric. Edric is very FRUGAL. It took me some time to realize the wisdom behind my husbands strictness when it came to money management. But I began to appreciate it as the years went by. If I was in charge of money in our home, we would now be in dire straits. One thing that he did give me was a discretionary fund or a fun fund. It was a fund for personal things going to the parlor, buying myself clothes, eating out with friends, etc. We have often encouraged couples to have a discretionary fund that a wife can use without having to clear everything with her husband. If I bought anything outside of that fund, then I would ask for permission because he was in charge of managing our overall budget. Otherwise, my personal expenses were not audited. I had liberty, within my budget, to go shopping or treat myself. The second money principle I learned in marriage was the concept of living within your means (or even below, if possible). Because I came from a family with means, I am embarrassed to admit that I didnt know what it was like to have to take public transportation or have a second hand car. I knew how to do house chores, but I had no idea how hard it was to make money and make it grow. I would feel stressed when

we didnt have enough money to pay for repairs or fix things around the house. God taught me NOT to make money my source of security. I had to learn contentment, avoid panicking that money was not in abundance, and quit comparing my state of life with siblings and friends. We couldnt really travel out of the country. I didnt have an unlimited budget for shopping. Even if I had a discretionary fund, it wasnt that big. (Praise God it grew as the years went by!) Living within our means was humbling at times and uncomfortable. I remember when I was 8 months pregnant with our first child, I was driving down McKinley to pick up Edric and I had to do a U-turn. But the car stalled in the middle of the road while I was doing the U-turn! Traffic was blocked on both sides of McKinley. I started to panic. Edric wasnt answering his phone and I didnt know what to do. Should I go out and push the car? I was 8 months pregnant! Cars were honking me. It was rush hour. I was so stressedon the brink of breaking down. I prayed and prayed and after about 10 minutes, the car finally re-started. Whew. What an ordeal. For a while I was bickering to myself and thinking, Why do I have to go through this? Why cant we have a car that works better? I never had this problem when I lived at home! (Well, wake up honey, this is your new reality. God is working on your character.) Although it was stressful at the time, Edric and I laugh about our adventures and the challenges we had at the beginning of our marriage. We used to park one of our cars on an incline just to make sure we could give it enough momentum to start the next day! These comedic memories have turned into romantic memories. Seriously. When Edric and I reminisce about how God has faithfully provided for us through the years, we look at each other and say, I am glad we went through that together. It wasnt easy but it made us closer. We started off without much so we had a lot to look forward to. Many people wait so long to get married these days because of career choices, wanting to build up a piggy bank fund so they can buy a house, a nice car or two, and comforts that they are used to. My encouragement to women out there is learn to be simple and easy to please. Dont be so high maintenance. It scares guys. They will feel like they can never afford you! Be wise and marry a man who loves God and works hard, and God will bless him financially. But be willing to adjust your own preferences. You may not get a big house right away or a shiney new car, but hey, you can look forward to those things together. The third principle I wanted to share was lowering expectations and raising appreciation. I had to learn to be an encourager and a positive source of affirmation for my husband. Guys go out there and fight a whole different level of stress. Remember, God said that Adam would have a hard time tilling the ground! Early on in our marriage, I didnt know how to be a very good encourager. When Edric would tell me his issues with work and finances, I would say, Well why did you make that decision? Maybe you should have said this or maybe you can do this And he would tell me, Hon, if I need your advice I will ask you. Oops. Verbal diarrhea in the house. In other words, what he wanted to hear was encouragement so he could go out there reenergized to get through another day. In Genesis, the Bible talks about how God created woman to be a suitable helper to the man. A suitable helper doesnt mean a yaya or househelp. The Hebrew word means Life giver along side. It is a beautiful picture of how a wife can support and uphold her husband. I am called to be a life-giver to Edric. I do this by submitting to his leadership, trusting that God has made him head of our home, and respecting him. But a big a part of being a life giver is also appreciating him, even for the little things. When Edric would doubt whether he was a good provider, when he would feel down about not being able to give me the kind of lifestyle he thought I deserved, I would tell him,Hon, I see your life. You love God, you are faithful to him. I dont doubt that he will bless your efforts. Just keep trusting in him. And then I would go run away to cry out to the Lord! God,

please let Edric know that you are mindful of him. Please allow him to experience your hand of blessing. But I made it a point to communicate to Edric that I believed in his God-given capacity, that I appreciated how hard he worked, the sacrifices he made and still makes to give us a comfortable life. Most importantly, I would tell him how blessed I was that he loves God and wants to be a godly husband and father. His face would change, he would hug me, sometimes even get teary eyed (just a little), and tell me how much my affirmation matteredthat it would inspire him to try his best. Did I still have my dreams and longings? Of course. But instead of pressuring Edric to be the fulfiller of these things, I turned them over to God. I surrendered them and said, Lord, in your time, your way, I know that you will give us the things we desire, if it is your will. I would pray for Edric and commit our marriage, finances, children, and circumstances to him (I still do), and he has been faithful. Ive received more than I dreamed of, not always what I wanted but better than I could have imagined. DSC02615 Lastly, I wanted to talk about the idea of priorities. For several years into my marriage, I was working full time and then part time to supplement our income. But, when we started having more kids, Edric and I talked about priorities and we decided that it was more important for me to be available to the kids and be at home. I am not saying that everyone has to make a life choice like this, but for Edric and I, it was a faith decision to switch to a single-income household. Who does that these days? It is not the trend. However, we thought of what will really matter twenty, thirty years from now. I knew I cannot buy back the years of being absent from the home and missing my childrens moments. So I wanted to be present to instruct and train them. We both believed in homeschooling and that became my full time job. It doesnt pay monetarily but it pays in eternal dividends. And let me just say that I am never bored as a housewife. I have four kids with different personalities who keep me entertained, on my toes, and absolutely dependent on God. Plus, there is decorating, cooking, trouble shooting, and appliance fixing (I am actually pretty capable with a wrench and pliers. It doesnt sound sexy but I am pretty proud of my handy woman abilities.) God turned my heart towards my family and home Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21 NASB) The principle is do not neglect or sacrifice the priorities of God, spouse and children on the altar of money. If you are a working woman and your spouse still feels like he is a priority, your kids are growing in character and they are turning out just fine then you are one of those superwomen who can balance and juggle everything. Hats off to you. But, if your home life is suffering then consider how you can make adjustments. Money can buy some things but not everything. It doesnt buy a happy spouse, happy children, a happy home, real peace or lasting joy, especially if the most important relationships are neglected. DSC05494 copy We are a happy family, by the grace of God! Tiana doesnt look too happy here, but she is. Above all else, Edric and I have learned and keep learning that God must always be the center, even when it comes to our finances. He is our ultimate provider. He owns everything. We are merely stewards of what he is given us. Matthew 6:33 says, Seek first his kingdom and all these things will be added unto you. God delights to bless people that love him and follow him. But often times, we have it the other way around. We make money and worldly pursuits first in our lives, the center, and leave no room for God. It is a constant striving after wealth for our sense of security and peace. Here is the good news: When you follow God and come into a personal relationship with him through his son, Jesus Christ, he not only provides for your needs and more, he gives you riches that money cannot buy.

You may not become a millionaire or billionaire, you become more! You become a child of a Father who has infinite resources; who knows when to withhold and when to give; who cares about the desires of your heart but knows when to protect you from them; who never abandons you; who gives you purpose and meaning beyond the drive for worldly successes; and who gives you eternal life with HIM to look forward to.