BIRTH ORDER AND THE FAMILY BUDGETING

BIRTH ORDER AND THE FAMILY BUDGETING

 

            I bet you never thought that your birth-order position would have an influence on how you manage your finances.  I never did until I read “Till Debt Do Us Part” by Dr. Bernard E. Poduska.  After reading the chapter, it made perfect sense the struggles my husband, and I have had in the past with finances.  

I am the oldest, but a female.  I have always wanted total control.  I save, I don’t spend impulsively, I set a budget and stick to it, and I expect everyone else to do it also.  My husband is the second born.  He hates being controlled or having someone tell him what to do.  When I made a budget, he would not live it.  When my son bought a truck, my husband wanted a truck.  When purchasing an item, he wants the top of the line.  You see our dilemma.  

After 41 years of marriage, we have found our happy medium.  I tend to buy a higher grade when purchasing an item. (I learned a long time ago that cheap falls apart faster).  We don’t have a firm budget, but then again neither of us are spenders.  We save for large items.  We drive our cars so long that when we trade them in we get a whopping $50.  Luckily we learned how to solve our differences without reading a book.

So what is your birth order?  Or your spouses?  Check the chart out below.

 

Dr. Poduska also has some advice to help each of us develop a more cooperative and democratic approach toward finances.

First Born

·       Make an effort to bring the financial matters into open discussion.

·       Develop a financial management plan based on distributing financial responsibilities among all family members.

·       Give each family member an allowance to spend how they wish.

Second Born

·       Review your social motivations behind your purchases and buying habits.  Then compare these motivations with more practical reasons for making purchases.

·       Remember you can never get enough of what you don’t need because what you don’t need can never satisfy you.

Middle Born

·       Rather than being afraid of rejection, you may find it helpful to seek rejection.  See how many ‘friends’ you can lose in a week merely by requesting payment from people who owe you money.

·       People make their own choices whether they are happy or sad.  It is not within your power to generate those feelings.

·       You cannot buy love and friendship.

Last Born

·       One of the most efficient ways to reduce stress is to act responsibly.

·       Ask yourself “How would things be different if I were to have all of my debts paid off and were no longer harassed by creditors?”

·       Increase your income and reduce your expenditures.