Dave Ramsey’s Financial Wisdom From Proverbsعينة

Day 7: Working Together

I'm a financial person. My wife, Sharon, is not. So maybe you can imagine my surprise several years ago when I discovered that she actually had some opinions about money.

But what really got me was how often I was wrong and she was right!

Sharon fits all the ideals of a genteel Southern woman. She never pushes to get her way, but she does tend to have "feeeeeelings" when it comes to big decisions. At first, I never paid much attention to those feeeeeelings. But after my personal pride left our family bankrupt, I learned to trust them.

Now, I won't make a major move without Sharon's insight.

For example, in the early days of my company, I wouldn't hire anyone before they had dinner with Sharon and me because I needed to hear her input and wisdom. That's something I've passed down to my leadership team today. Our company doesn't hire anybody until they've completed a spousal interview with the department leader and his or her spouse.

I really believe Proverbs 31:10–11 is a prescription for wise financial decisions. If you're married, you and your spouse are one. If you run off and make a huge purchase or sink money into an investment without talking with your spouse, you're only operating with half your brain!

And the results are rarely a blessing. Every time I've made a major decision without Sharon's advice, it's caused me huge amounts of heartache - and cost me lots of money!

If you're single, you can rely on your accountability partner to play that role in your life. Either way, the point is to get outside your own head, share the plan out loud, and let others tell you if they think it's a bad idea.

I'll admit that talking about money can cause some disagreements, but that's normal and healthy in a marriage. Just remember that your spouse is not the enemy. In fact, God has placed the two of you on the same team to make each other better. And who knows - if you can agree on the checkbook, the only real fight left may be over who gets the remote.