How To Make Your Wife Save Money

How can I get my wife to save money!? This seems to be a common question for a guy who just started his journey to financial freedom. He starts to realize the wrong things that he and his wife did over the past few years and now he wants to control and change things. This seems to be a normal thing for most people and it could be vice-versa. But what a lot of people don't realize is... It's actually easier to change your self than to change the world.

Before I go and tell you an advice on how to make your wife save money or how to make her stop from spending I'd like to tell you a story about myself.

I remember a scenario one morning when I was still in College. I still lived with my family that time and didn't have a girlfriend. Ok, I didn't have to say that...

Anyway, we were always required to wear black leather shoes in school and I was so upset when I was about to go to school and couldn't find my black leather shoes. I, being the immature person back then pre-judged that my brother took my shoes! I was screaming and in tantrums until my father told me that... "You can't carry the world".

How To Make Your Wife Save Money By Starting From The Inside-Out

In the seven habits of highly effective people, Stephen Covey taught about private victory. This means that you got to convince yourself that you are a winner first before others would recognize you as a winner. I also asked a mentor (a financial and business mentor) a few years ago how he got his wife to agree to all his plans to go all out in business and how they managed to save money like a real husband and wife, a team... He said... "I think it started with me".

The question you have to ask yourself is are you really what you want your wife to be? Because it starts from the inside-out. If you are trying to be frugal just for the sake that other people would recognize, it will never work. It's really easier to change yourself first and then maybe... Just maybe... You can influence other people and they "might" decide to change.

Marriage is about teamwork. You're probably on the right track having realized your financial mistakes. However, you can't force people to change... They will be the ones who will decide to change. Start saving money by as much as you can... You can start from your own weekly allowance (I have a weekly allowance when I go to work),  then when you've saved significantly you can share to your wife how this method worked for you. Don't  take it on her if she doesn't appreciate it though, just share the story...

You have to explain to your wife the purpose of you saving money and why you need to save money together. I had this mistake early on in my financial journey not to explain to my wife these things. I understood why I needed to save money, but I wasn't able to communicate it verbally. You know, sometimes we men just keep these thoughts to ourselves and expect the other person to understand... Doesn't work that way.

Okay, so how can you make your wife save money again? That's right... From the inside-out.

P.S. To the ladies, this post isn't meant to be sexist or racist in any way. I hope you get the point I'm trying to make here and that this article applies to both men and women. It so happens that I am a man and my partner is a woman that I have to speak in a man's point of view.

Photo Credit: Alan Cleaver