On Saturday we took a day trip down to San Antonio to do some househunting (more on that later, in another blog entry ...) so I waited until Sunday to do my monthly Net Worth calculation. It was down a bit from a month ago; not a lot, just a bit. It didn't bother me because I knew what the reasons were, and in the grand scheme of things they just don't matter. For example, I paid and recorded our December rent payment at the end of November instead of the 1st of the month. Also, my retirement funds were down a bit, but they had been up freakishly the month before, so I wasn't concerned.
But I was worried about my DH's reaction. I knew he might have a little freak out and would want to start moving money around (he just can't stand to see any sort of dip, even if it's just one month), so I did some pre-emptive strategizing. No, I did not do any "creative accounting" ... No money secrets in our house. Instead, before showing him the monthly figures, I looked up what our NW was 3 months ago and one year ago. Then, when he saw the monthly figures and he said "What?!?" with that "here-comes-trouble" tone of voice, I just calmly explained why, and then said "But look at the change from 3 months ago ... And look at the change from a year ago!" And you know what ... He got it! He looked at the big picture, and saw that a one month dip is not the end of the world! Over-reacting was averted ...
I was inspired to take that approach (using what I know about how my DH thinks and staying one step ahead of him) by Ima_saver ... It makes me chuckle how she takes out a loan to buy a car even tho' she could pay cash, because it keeps her car-crazy husband from buying a new car every year!
Knowing How Your SO Thinks can be Helpful
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