Welcome to another week in the school of money.I host a finance and relationship summit known as “MATRIMONEY” and what we have explored in these series is a taste of it. We have seen four tips in the last part so let us continue from point five.
5. GIVE GOD HIS RIGHTFUL PLACE :
It is always amazing for me to see how many so called Christians will ignore God without obedience to God’s covenant. When they are in trouble they turn around and cry out to the God for help. We use and abuse God because we take grace for granted. For any Christian couple to win financially,God must be first while prompt and complete compliance to covenant obligation is not negotiable. From your first fruit,to your tithes,to your offering and all other seeds that God requires of you, obedience is key. Until we realise that all that we have really belong to God and we are only stewards,the error will continue
6. SETTLE THE JOINT ACCOUNT CONTROVERSY :
As a relationship counsellor and author of numerous books and audio programmes on relationship,one issue that comes up from time to time among couples is the joint account issue which has become a controversial issue and point of contention due to religion. In my book “love is not enough “I dealt extensively with this,and will like to state that I personally believe that couples need more than one account to run their family successfully. What I advocate is joint knowledge with multiple accounts and not joint accounts alone.
Few accounts every family needs:
Personal account: Each individual in the marriage needs personal account where an agreed percentage of their income should go and it should not be a secret,you need to realise that any relationship that robs you of your individuality ends up becoming a bondage.
Expense account: the family needs to have an account that serves as an expense account from where they run the family budget and upkeep. An agreed percentage of their income goes into this account and the prudent one among the couple who oversees the running of the home should handle this account on behalf of the family.
Investment account: This to me is where the joint account issue comes in, I personally believe that 10-20% of your joint income should be saved in a joint account for investment and asset acquisition purposes. This should be a joint account where no money can be accessed individually.
7. SEEK HELP EARLY AND TOGETHER
I have come to realise that apart from when people have health or legal challenges,most people hardly seek professional help for their challenges. People have this funny mindset that make them think that going to see a professional or paying for professional help is not for them hence they suffer needlessly. Some only cry for help when things have really gone out of hand and sometimes too late.Any problem that is beyond your capacity to solve requires external assistance and that is where counselling and consultancy comes in. As a couple it is also the very key that you don’t just seek help early but you seek it together because it takes two to tango.
Join me next week for another class in the school of money.
Keep you dreams alive.