We've been successful with our debt snowball, but lately we've recognized that our budget is missing some wiggle room, and we are getting burned out. Also, there's been moments of disagreement when either of us really wants something.
While listening to Mr. Ramsey's entertaining and somewhat irritating radio show, I realized what we were missing. We hadn't included fun money (or blow money) into our budget. Fun money is a Dave Ramsey principle; it's a small amount of money that is distributed to each person and is to be used in whatever way the money holder wishes.
For the past week or two, we've him-hawed around about how much fun money we should be allotted and what kinds of things it should be spent on. Last night, I opened a Word document and officially typed out our ideas. We decided that we're going to designate a larger amount of fun money for ourselves, BUT in addition to whatever we want to spend it on, that money will take the place of a few categories in our budget, like clothing, restaurants, and entertainment.
So now whenever Kb reminds me that he'd really like an HD tv or some ice cream, I can remind him that he can save up his fun money for that. By the same token, if I really want some candy or cute new shoes, I'll have to use my fun money.
We'll see how it works. One thing that I like about Kb is that he's willing to talk this sort of stuff out. It really feels like we're a team. Also, we're both flexible enough to see the other's point of view. For example, Kb has a bachelor party coming up, and they will be going to a casino. Now, neither of us are the casino type; not to mention, it's a budget busting nightmare. But in that type of situation, you're pretty much obligated to participate. So we decided that he'll use some fun money, and we'll budget some extra money for him for that night.
See, I can be reasonable :)
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