Love And Money

Once you've taken the Money Talks quiz, it's time to develop what I call "house rules." It's imperative that you establish a set of guidelines to govern how you will deal with money in your household.

Think about it. We work for organizations that have rules on how we are to conduct ourselves in the workplace. And yet when it comes to our personal lives, we rarely establish written rules of engagement.

For example, my husband and I have rules for just about every aspect of our home life. We even have a rule on how to conduct ourselves during an argument. When we are arguing, neither of us can bring up past incidents. If the rule is violated, we get buzzed. Let's say I'm fussing at my husband for dropping his shoes in the middle of the family room. If I complain about it, he can't bring up at that moment a time when I may have done the same thing. If he does, I make a buzzing sound to indicate he has violated the rule.

The buzzing accomplishes two things. First, you make your husband aware that he's veering away from the issue at hand and trying to shift focus from his own act. Second, it brings levity to the situation, as the buzzing is both annoying and funny.

Establishing house rules has worked wonders for us. We have civil, respectful disagreements and never fight about money. The key is for both of you to buy into the concept that the rules are a mandate. They can't be changed unless you both agree.

Here are some financial house rules you may want to consider adopting as your own:

· We agree that neither of us can make a purchase of $200 or more without first consulting the other. The point of this rule is to get you to discuss your spending. Even if you keep separate accounts, it's important to talk about your joint and separate expenditures.

· We agree in the case of a major purchase that both of us must vote in the affirmative. If either one of us says no, the deal is dead. Some of the biggest arguments over money result when one partner wants to spend money on something the other doesn't approve of. I have heard from spouses furious that their partners made major purchases (house, car, big pieces of furniture) without their approval or against their wishes. This can cause a major breach of trust in the relationship -- not to mention a financial strain.

For example, let's say your husband decides he wants a luxury sport-utility vehicle that will end up costing $700 a month for five years. You husband may argue that the car note is coming out of his check and that therefore you don't have a say in the decision. However, such a hefty car note may mean he needs to work overtime or get a second job. Now, tell me how that purchase will not affect the family! Clearly, it should have been jointly decided.

I'll admit that this rule does have its downside. In my house, it takes almost a Geneva-type summit to buy furniture or select carpeting. But the result is that nobody is bullied into buying something that he doesn't want or feels would be a huge financial mistake.

· We agree there will be no financial secrets. No secret bank accounts. No earnings that are not disclosed. Again, even if you decided to keep separate bank accounts, you should make full financial disclosure a hard-and-fast rule in your house. Think of it this way: When two businesses merge, there is complete disclosure of assets. There is always a vetting period when the two companies open their books completely. The same should be the case for your marriage.

· We both pledge to establish a plan to meet regularly to discuss the family's finances.

· We agree to operate under a budget and agree to adhere to it. Essentially, the gist of this rule is to get you both to establish upper limits on certain line items. For example, the two of you may agree that neither of you will spend more than $75 for a pair of sneakers for the children nor more than $50 for their birthday gifts one year. If limits are set and followed, you don't have to worry that your partner will go overboard when shopping and sabotage the budget.

· We agree that one of us will be designated as the money manager in the household. I could advise you to switch off handling the bills, but realistically, that often doesn't happen. One spouse typically ends up being the family's treasurer. That's okay. At the very least, review the finances at least once a month.

· We agree there will be no financial tit for tat. I have seen countless couples try to outspend each other in the name of fairness. For instance, my husband plays golf. Golfing is an expensive hobby. I love to read and play Scrabble. What I spend on books in a year doesn't come close to what he spends in a year on golf. But I don't try to go out and spend money on other things to equal his spending. That would just be childish.

· We agree that all discussions about our finances will be conducted in a respectful manner. We will not cuss at each other. We will not degrade each other. We will not yell at each other. If either of us breaks one of the rules, we will own up to the transgression and find a way to prevent it from happening again.

This may all seem too formal to you -- even businesslike -- but if you want financial peace in your household, you must develop a set of rules to govern your financial behavior. Will the rules be broken? Sure they will. But having them as a baseline of how to conduct yourself will help you quickly get back on track when the rules are broken.

Excerpted from "Your Money and Your Man" by Michelle Singletary, published by Random House. © Michelle Singletary.