The first time we sat down to do a budget was horrifying. I had never lived on a tight budget before. It was MY
money. I could what I wanted when I wanted and I didn't have to answer to anyone. Suddenly, this communal living situation was real: We both had to account for everything and check to make sure we weren't overstepping our financial boundaries. This was totally new territory. Wes and I had taken a class on financial management and household spending. We knew what to expect but expectations and reality are two totally different things. Wes did the budget because he enjoys focusing on things in detail. I am admittedly not a details person, we later discovered that I am only capable of "Budget Management discussions" for fifteen minutes a month. That's it. The first time, he handed me the budget, I looked it over, made some adjustments (I wanted more money for some fun, lets face it, $20 isn't enough for two weeks), and handed it back to him. He didn't go ballistic like I thought he would, just the opposite. We calmly agreed to work together to do the budget and we managed to stick to it, it takes time to adjust to the discussion but, allowing ourselves to communicate openly and clearly about our goals for the month was really refreshing.
