Hey Young Money Finance! It’s “Mrs. Money” as many of our friends refer to me. My last post (What it’s like to be Mrs. Money Finance) was a huge hit and I thought I’d do another post!

I’ve been married to Ben for just over 2 years, and if I’ve learned anything its that marriage is all about compromise. There are always pros and cons of every compromise and I’m here today to tell you the pros and cons to marrying a strict budgeter.

Pro: Being financially prepared to make some big purchases in our first 2 years of marriage. In our first 2 years of marriage Ben and I have made some big life steps! We were able to pay off all of my student loan debt within the first 9 or so months. Then we bought a house. And if that wasn’t enough, we replaced both of our cars! (read more about these purchases and the thought behind them here)

Con: Having to say no to small purchases and things that I want. In our first 2 years of marriage I’ve really had to cut back on my personal spending. I liked to think that prior to marriage I was very financially sensible. I saved a lot of money to pay for my loans and our wedding. And I saved even more money by living at home. But I also indulged. I went out to eat with friends, bought new clothes on occasion, and bought tons and tons for my classroom. Now that I’m married, I really think through my purchases. Knowing that I’m going to have to fit what I buy into our budget rather than just my budget leaves me saying no more than yes when it comes to shopping and making small purchases.

Pro: Having the money to travel. Ben and I both love to travel. In fact, we’ve both done a fair amount of traveling, even before marriage. Ben studied abroad, and I traveled around the US teaching horseback riding camps. When we got married, we knew that travel was important to both of us, so Ben put it in the budget. We have gone to some pretty cool places since we’ve been married. We try to keep our travel expenses down by not eating out for every meal, and we use public transportation rather than renting cars. We have gotten to explore New York, Denver, Chicago, Asheville, Savannah, and St Croix. (read about our trips and how we still save money while doing so!) We also travel quite a bit to see family.

Con: Receipts! Not every budgeter is the same. Some use online platforms like mint.com or another site. Some are old fashioned and use Excel or another spreadsheet software. Ben is old school. He is, in fact, so old fashioned, that he likes a receipt for everything. And I mean everything. He then looks at the receipts and puts them in to the appropriate column of our budget. Now, this isn’t a bad thing at all, it keeps us aware of our spending, BUT it does make it nearly impossible to surprise Ben with anything. It also makes it hard when making a guilty pleasure purchase, like a pedicure, because then I have to give him the receipt at the end of the day.

With any compromise in life, there are always pros and cons, but I must say, the pros definitely outweigh the cons when it comes to our budget. With plans of traveling to Italy this summer, I’ll take the budgeting and saying no to impulse purchases. It will all be worth it when I’m, as I like to tell Ben, “eating my way through Italy”!