Guest Post from My Valentine
Ah, February - the month of love and affection and Hallmark right there to convey just how you feel. And of course the florists and candy makers also ensure that your loved one is well loved. And for a natural spender like me all of these things make perfect sense!
Oh I forgot to introduce myself! I am BJ, husband of your regular host Jenny, and I get the amazing honor of writing her entry for this week.
Jenny and I could not be more different in our natural financial instincts. She is a saver and I am a spender. I splurge on spontaneous meals and she creates homemade gifts with months of thought. To be honest with y’all I didn’t really know much of anything about money (except how to spend it) until we married. She may have taught y’all a thing or two but I am by far her longest and slowest learning pupil.
You see, Jenny had to introduce me to savings, investments, debt consolidation and payment, emergency funds, and how to appreciate guilt free spending once everything else had been allocated. She was patient and attentive but also committed to paying off our debts (most brought into our marriage by me). Over the years I have come to appreciate the peace of knowing how much money we have and that we can pay our bills without worrying whether the transaction will clear or not. Because of her gone are the days when I wondered if the debit card would be declined or not. It has been a long journey, but our arrival to this point has been worth it.
However, I would be remiss if I didn’t say that I have taught her about money as well. Because of me, Jenny now knows that it’s worth it sometimes to get fast food for supper if we’ve had an exhausting day. I taught her that while technically one could survive not eating on a road trip, the experience is much more enjoyable with snacks! Using your money to enhance an experience or to alleviate stress from time to time is a good thing.
Even in the month of love sometimes the natural spender and the natural saver don’t always see eye to eye. Maybe even more so during this month. Because I want to shower her with gifts and displays of affection, but her love language isn’t spoken that way. On top of being a saver she is also a very hard worker and oftentimes acts of service count much more for her than receiving gifts. While I am a spender I also really cherish quality time so Jenny knows that just having time for us as a couple is worth more than anything I could buy. It really comes down to listening and learning…in love and money. So if this valentines if you are working on a budget and your love life just know that most of the best gifts don’t include a dollar sign. The cost is generally the thought and effort put into the gift. Whether to or from a natural saver or natural spender.
B.J. Traverse
