It is hard enough to budget and plan in this economy but when you don't have both spouses on the same page it gets down right awnry! I really believe most couples could reduce their budgets and anxiety by a large degree by either working together or getting some professional financial help together. The time spent doing this is probably the best use of anyone's time except for the necessities of life. You owe it to yourself and you owe it to your family. And you should get around to it A.S.A.P.

I try my best to point out the best things available in my industry, the mortgage industry, as well as many other financial ideas I believe you should consider but until now I have never suggested that we need a truce in the battle of the sexes. Abdication is not the answer,team work is. You married for better or worse, but you needn't go out of your way to make it worse, only to make it better. Woman are more practical and men are more adventurous so why not take the best from each and build your castle with the best foundation you can? That would come from your combined strengths and mutual agreement.

My parents passed away years ago and for years I thought of what my father use to tell me of the property he wanted to purchase at prices that seemed even low for those days. When I asked him why he didn't do it he said my mother wouldn't let him. I had this tiny resentment of my mother for years for not letting him make us rich, and me very comfortable without working, until I finally realized it wasn't her fault at all. It didn't have to happen like that if they ever could have worked together. You certainly don't want to pass on a legacy like that because your kids might not be as amused as I became when I figured it all out.