Being. Committed. 

I like married couples that  keep commitments. I admire men and women who "sail" through all kinds of weather in their marriages. On some level, within their psyche, these married couples respect one another and support one another. Commitment sheaves many components: honor, loyalty, and knowledge. I am thinking this evening about knowledge. Having an innate understanding of each other's talents is paramount in relationships. Of course, commitment gives wings to a mate's talents. Beyond encouraging talents to flourish, wise companionship and commitment are copilots, too. I enjoy observing couples - particularly - young married couples make financial decisions. 

Early in my married life, I observed, from a distance, friends of ours make financial decisions. They, too, were attending medical school. They purchased a house in a working class part of Washington, D.C. I didn't like their house at all. My friend told me tales of mice and roaches invading their attic, kitchen, and bathroom. I was shocked when this young wife and mother invited my husband and I to a party asking me to bring our card table. The card table's legs, she explained, could be placed in pans of water so the cockroaches couldn't climb into the food dishes! Within six months, they had a new kitchen, a new bathroom, and cleared the attic of mice. The cockroaches were cleared out, too. (Before we graduated from medical school, Shauna and Val's house tripled in worth because the Metro was expanded within a block of their property. They were told this would happen and they were willing to make the sacrifice to reap the financial reward.) In the second year of med school, they called us drooling with excitement because they had purchased a "new" car, we invited them over to share their purchase. The car was really a junker of sorts but newer than their "old" car. Shauna raved to me, "It's new to us!"

Our journey was one of pride. We purchased a townhouse in a new housing division. The year of medical school graduation we purchased a new car - make and model for that year. We sold our townhouse for a little less than our purchase. We made our car payments just fine. Throughout our marriage, we were always car poor. Add to that - house poor. My husband had the ability to make a fine living but we did not utilize our financial knowledge or make commitments regarding our financial success. 

Shauna and Val retired with a secure financial future. They helped eight children through college, missions, and marriages. They have family vacations - I am talking cruises, camping, Disney World, and any other vacation a family could dream. They have no financial debt. Their financial knowledge and commitment to their future sanctified their marriage vows. Fortunately, they both not only read from the same financial page but followed the same drummer. 

I knew we were making unwise financial decisions. I had knowledge of how to  build a secure financial future. I did not pursue conversations and planning that revealed my commitment to my husband. Commitment is a verb - an action verb. Marriages - happy and successful marriages - take financial actions for their future lives together. Having a husband with innate earning ability is not enough. Patience and fugalness are the true components of financial commitment in a marriage. Marriages without this type of commitment  bite off more than they can eventually pay. They rob themselves - denying to one another - the journey of working for a secure financial future . . . together. 


I signed off and decided to sign back on. I think I want my friends to know and to have faith that there is a future. In the daily rumble, please, please do not loose sight of a future. The future is made of stars, the moon, and the sun, but you and your companion will live the seconds, minutes, and hours - however you commit - together.