I Have Done a Bad, Bad Thing

Hey Scott,

I have read your book four times and am hooked. My partner and I have set up our Barefoot Date Nights, renamed our bank accounts, cut up our credit cards and rejigged our super. And I am confident we are on the right track, with some savings and absolutely no debt -- not even 10 bucks owing to a mate. But I have done a bad, bad thing. A while ago I skimmed off the top of our Fire Extinguisher and Smile accounts, just to get through the last few days before my partner’s monthly pay. But now I am doing this every month. I feel so guilty. HELP!

Alice

Hi Alice

Well done on getting things sorted!

There’s no reason to feel guilty. If you’re short each month, you may just need to allocate more money to Splurge (the percentages I gave in the book were a rough and ready guide). Yet I’d still do a gut check and see whether what you’re spending that money on is really moving the dial for you. After all, the aim isn’t to be in a strict budget straitjacket, but to consciously spend your money on things you love.

Regardless, it sounds like you need to do a monthly date night with your partner, so you can nut this out together. Liz and I still do ours. These days though we only talk about our buckets for a few minutes (while looking at our banking apps on Liz’s phone), discuss any big ticket purchases we have on the horizon, and eyeball each other that everything is okay financially, and then move on to more exciting things. It takes time to get to that place, but if you commit to doing it each month, you’ll get there.

Scott.