Husband vs. Wife: How Should We Save?

As you say yourself, financial planning is as much about psychology as nickels and dimes. Toward that end, Dr. Lawrence Balter, professor of applied psychology at New York University and lecturer on all things family, is firmly in my corner.

“It’s a function of personalities and what you are most comfortable with,” he says. Hear that, sweetie? I hope your listening ears are on and facing forward. I’m just not comfortable with planning for what realistically can’t be done. Call me a defeatist, but I’d rather admit defeat at the outset, then try and end up losing big.

Mrs. Fuchs says: Wait a minute there, you word twister. Dr. Balter also says, “Financial planning within a marriage is akin to negotiating within any businesses. One side comes in high, one side low. But you reach a level both can live with.” That’s called compromise, sweetie. Want me to spell it for you? And listen to Richard Salmeron, a financial planner who runs Salmeron Financial Network in Dallas, Texas, who said that even in falling short of a savings goal, you can succeed. “It’s OK to shoot for the stars,” he says, paraphrasing the saying, “because if you don’t make it you can still land on the moon. You can make progress.”

So even though I’m more apt to give up my daily exercise for a good book, I say we follow their advice and set a monthly goal. If 10% gives you the heebie jeebies, let’s agree on a different monthly goal. Let’s not let the fear of failure keep us from financial security.