My wife and I haven’t argued over money in over than 5 years.
Whether we’re talking about outfitting the house with A/C, remodeling the kitchen, buying a big screen TV, getting a new car, or even small things like going to the movies and renting videos, whenever a potential disagreement regarding spending money is about to erupt, we always say the same thing:

“Well, let’s put it into MS Money and see what it says”. 

And in just a few mouse clicks, we get a clear idea of how even the simplest financial adjustment will impact our lifestyle 20 years from now.

“OK, we can replace the windows in the patio, but that means we’ll have to work an extra 5 years before we can retire.  Are we OK with that?”

Some experts believe that money issues underlie 90% of all marital problems.
Some couples I know will talk about anything before they will discuss their finances.  I know that we used to argue over our finances, a lot, before we computerized our finances;  we installed Microsoft Money and our marriage has never financially been the same.

Take the emotion out of financial decisions
Now of course I can’t speak for everyone’s marriages but I know that in our home, disagreements over finances used to be accompanied with vague, emotional claims like: “That’s too expensive”, “It’s on sale!”, “We can’t afford that”, “It’s cheap!.”   Today, the discussions center around actual numbers: “That purchase will put us over budget by about $160 this month, so we either cut back elsewhere or put it off until next month.”

Document your life
Interested?  Document your financial life using management software like either Quicken or MS Money.  Today’s software goes far beyond just managing the checkbook. Not only do you input every penny of your financial condition and assets like homes, cars, and long term investments, but you also key in critical data like the age of each family member.  Depending on how much financial history you input, you can either create a budget from scratch or extrapolate one based on actual spending.

Does your lifetime plan work?
Once everything is done, hold your breath because you are about to click on the most important button in your life: MS Money calls it the “Lifetime Planner”: a summary graph that starts from today and goes until your targeted retirement year.  It accounts for the kid’s college expenses, your reduced living expenses after they move out, and even the gives you the option to sell your home and move into something smaller when the nest empties.   It answers the all-important question (at least for us Baby Boomers): Can I financially afford a comfortable retirement?   Financially speaking, there’s nothing quite like seeing the cold, emotionless computer screen giving you a thumbs up or down on your current financial condition projected into the future.

Take the guesswork out of financial planning
Personal financial management software pulls discussions about money out of the guessing or emotional realm and forces them into the planning and factual world.  What you’re about to buy might indeed be too expensive, but the software tells you exactly why with a precise dollar amount. And something quite magical happens when you see a real number in front of you: the current financial discussion turns into a financial plan that lends itself to creating goals and making changes.

Focus on what's important
So if you’re wringing your hands over that home remodeling project or other major expense, take the decision out of emotions or limited calculations and input your financial life into a Quicken or MS Money.  Then you can get back to the more important home arguments like which way the toilet paper should flow.

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