Don’t let your Work run your Marriage

Work is important....we all need money to survive in life. We need to purchase food, pay our bills, and do things we want. The only way this will happen is if we work so we can make money.

Now I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel like I work way too much. When this happens I usually take vacation time so I can do whatever I want. Sometimes we feel like this is not possible. When this happens we are letting our work run our life. It is worse when you are married because there are two or more of you that are impacted.

It’s possible that our boss can make us feel like we shouldn’t take time. They might try to play a guilt trip on you or tell you that they have so much going on that you can’t take the time off. This is not right and you need to talk to your boss about this. Everybody is allowed to take time off and you can’t be told that you are not allowed just because they don’t want to cover you while you are gone. Make arrangements far enough in advance that they will be able to handle it in whatever way it needs to be handled.

The old saying, money isn’t everything, is true. At times it can be hard to see that, but it’s the truth and we need to remember that. If you need the money to pay your bills, you should consider looking at the things you pay for each month to see if you can get rid of anything.

If you have a land line and cell phones, consider getting rid of the land line and use your cell phones only. This will save you money every month. Another option is to lower your cable. Do you have channels that you never watch? Why not go to the next lower package and not pay so much for channels you aren’t watching. Something else to look at is your food bill. Do you go out for dinner two or three times a week? Consider going out one day a week instead. You will still have food to buy for those days, but it will be less expensive in the long run.

A marriage is built on communication and you won’t have that if you are working all the time. Working long hours, coming home and going right to bed, could potentially lead to a marriage falling apart. You don’t want this, so you need to find ways to work less so you can be at home.

If you are putting 50 or 60 hours a week in at your job, it’s too much. Think about the reason you are doing this and make a change. If the reason is money then pray for an answer to your needs, if it’s because of a guilt trip then you need to talk with your boss to work through it, and if it’s because you feel obligated, then you need to stop. Work isn’t everything and your life shouldn’t evolve around it. Take some time off and spend it with your spouse. You both will appreciate it.