When you first get married, costs and expenditures can blow your budget out of the water very fast. Debt can build in a blink of an eye, and a marriage can find itself in trouble before their first anniversary ever arrives. This is why identifying controllable costs for Newlyweds is so important. It can help them to notice the money that is flying out the window before their newborn relationship veers out of control.
What are controllable costs anyway? Controllable costs are exactly what they sound like – those areas of our budgets that are fully under our control. There are many of these costs, of course, and much fewer costs that are fixed. Fixed costs are those we can not control such as electricity rates, health care rates, insurance premiums and so on. Of course there are aspects of these things that are controllable, but they are generally set in cost by the people extending the services.
Here are some controllable costs for Newlyweds that can be helpful to identify long before they tie the knot.
Food Costs – The decision to eat at home is one way that you can start the relationship off right. Eating at home is much less expensive than eating out all the time. Also, you are much more likely to eat healthy at home. As your family grows, eating around the dinner table at night will be a huge benefit to your children as well.
Hobbies – While everyone can benefit from an excellent hobby, it has to remain in control. Golfing is great, but if you can not afford but one round of golf per month you have to stick to that. Do not make your hobbies into obsessions, or you will find controllable costs are out of control.
Clothing – Again, it all depends upon what you can afford. You control how much or how little you spend on clothes. If you can not afford Armani, and you buy it anyway, you will be in big trouble down the road. Consider your clothing expenses and make sure you are staying within your means.
Going Out – It is good for Newlyweds to socialize, and they should go out from time to time. The huge benefit to being married, however, is that you no longer have to “go out” to have a date. Embrace the idea of having date nights at home, and you will be amazed at how much money you save on a monthly and yearly basis.
Bills – Various things are considered “extra” in the bill category. Cablevision instead of over the air television is a classic example. How many minutes you have on your cell phone is another. Search your bills for those things that you can save money on, and you will keep controllable expenses under control for good.
