Russ Crosson’s
book, Eight Important Money Decisions for Every Couple (Harvest
House Publishers, 2012), gets our strong recommendation as an extremely
practical aid to couples wanting to better communicate about their family
finances. We especially appreciate his thorough consideration of Biblical
truths about marriage, husband and wife roles, and God-honoring communication.
We have referenced other
family financial resources in this blog, including those by Crosson’s
colleague, Ron Blue (Books for Financially Troubled
Christians). Crosson’s book is not quite as “in-your-face” as Dave
Ramsey’s, Total Money Makeover (not without its merits),
but Eight Important Money Decisions for Every Couple offers
comprehensive instruction into the root cause of financial disharmony—a lack of
discerning communication.
Before Crosson initiates
development of his eight money decisions in chapter five, he explores the
purpose of money, the purpose of marriage, reasons for marriage conflict, and
the value of work. Some readers may become impatient with this rather long
introductory section, but will see its value as the eight decisions are
addressed.
Woven throughout the
entire book is a conversation between a hypothetical couple, Rob and Sarah,
which paints a tangible picture of the different perspectives that husbands and
wives bring to the table when discussing finances. Wives (and husbands) will
find Julie Crosson’s (Russ’s wife) final chapter a balanced and
thought-provoking examination of a wife’s role in family finances.
Eight Important Money
Decisions for Every Couple is
ideal for targeted audiences of pastors seeking pre-marital counseling
materials, newlyweds hit with the realities of coming to “one mind” after their
independent singleness, and married couples of all ages wanting to improve
their stewardship of money.
The Eight Decisions (and
our brief comments):
1.
How much should we work?
(Don’t complain about never seeing one another if you cannot learn to live on
the income of a normal work week.)
2.
Should mom work outside
the home? (This chapter has produced great discussions among and between
couples in Bible studies we’ve led.)
3.
Who pays the bills?
(Examine the extremes of controlling versus apathetic husbands; then find your
own balanced approach.)
4.
How do we set budget
amounts? (Practical guidelines for creating a workable budget. Crosson:
"You're only on a budget system if, at any point in time, you can answer
this question: How much do you have
left to spend on [name a specific expense]." (p. 123"))
5.
How much debt should we
allow? (Communications that most married couples will wish they had had before their
wedding day.)
6.
How do we decide which
investments to make? (Good perspective: “A person doesn’t become wealthy from
investments. He gets wealthy by spending less than he makes from his vocation
over a long period of time and preserving that surplus through investments” (p.
157).)
7.
How much should we give?
(Crosson: “Julie and I have found that it’s critical to communicate in this
area just as we do about investments” (p. 169).)
8.
What is our strategy for
discussing money? (The thoroughly biblical counsel of this chapter works for a
lot more than just talks about money.)
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