The July-August 2003 issue of Utne reader has some fascinating suggestions for dealing with money. My favorite suggestions, many of which were already a part of my life, include
1.) Putting away money for vacations (I have always kept a "long term wish list" account, into which I put money when I have extra after all bills and savings are paid),
2.) Saving and investing your money in a local community credit institution. This is an idea that I had not thought much about. I always prefer credit unions, when possible, but hadn't really known why, beyond the fact that they seem more accessible, and give better interest rates, in general. Now I can add to those sentiments the fact that they are locally owned, and put money back into the local community, where you can see the effects that money has on the world around you.
3.) The last suggestion Utne magazine has is one that seems novel, but useful, to me. When dating, create a "dating budget" and discuss weekly what to to with it. This avoids situations where one partner feels hurt by the other partner due to an inequity in spending styles (regardless of income). What constitutes a fair contribution can be discussed by each party in terms of her values surrounding money -the spending of it, the saving of it, and her philosophy and baggage behind it. I think that is both a good way of dealing with dating expenses, and an excellent way of getting to know more about the evolution of a potential mates way of handling money, and her way of relating to money and the world around her, through that issue.
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