Need financial help? Twelve ways a money buddy can help.
I鈥檝e long been an advocate of a 鈥渕oney buddy鈥� 鈥� someone close to you who is going through a similar financial experience as you who can support you through the (sometimes) difficult challenges ahead while you also support them. Usually, a good money buddy can already be found in your social network 鈥� a sibling, a cousin, or a close friend who seems to be going through fairly similar financial troubles as you are.
There are a lot of benefits for finding a money buddy, both directly financial and psychological. Here are twelve potential benefits of a money buddy. Remember, you don鈥檛 have to use all of these 鈥� just select the ones that fit and work well for you and your buddy.
Relieve each other of a secret burden. Sometimes, financial problems can be a very secret burden, something you鈥檙e ashamed to tell others. When you have a money buddy, you have someone that you can tell about it, relieving all of that tension and built-up angst. That person is a willing ear and a shoulder to cry on.
Provide positive reinforcement of each other鈥檚 progress. A money buddy can serve as a cheerleader for every good move you make. It can be hard to make big changes in our spending, but when someone鈥檚 there motivating us and encouraging us to make the hard choices, those hard choices become a bit easier.
Share membership at a warehouse shopping club. You can split the cost of a warehouse shopping club with your money buddy, reducing the annual cost of a Sam鈥檚 Club, BJ鈥檚, or Costco membership by half. You can also use your money buddy to split some of the multi-packs or jumbo packs sold at such stores.
鈥淓at out鈥� at home together. A big part of the appeal of eating out is the social interaction. Replace a regular 鈥渆ating out鈥� night with a meal at home with your money buddy. You can either prepare the meal together as a team or alternate meal prep work.
Engage in new inexpensive hobbies together. It鈥檚 a lot easier to get involved with a new hobby if you鈥檙e doing it with someone else. Explore a new hobby with your money buddy, taking the time you spend on that hobby from something expensive that you used to do.
Search for enormous bargains in concert with each other. When you need a new freezer or a hot water heater or a car or any other significant purchase, shop together for it. Four eyes have a lot better chance of spying a big bargain than two eyes do.
Share larger items and possessions. Share a lawnmower. Share a snowblower. Share a trailer. These items can easily be used by both of you, particularly if you live fairly close together.
Give advice from fresh eyes. When you鈥檝e reached a point of financial indecision (鈥漌hich debt do I pay off first?鈥� 鈥淲hat bank should I use?鈥�), a money buddy is a great source of a second set of eyeballs to look at the situation and make a great decision.
Carpool. If you work at the same place (or near each other), carpooling can save you both quite a bit of money. Even if you can only do it 鈥渟ometimes,鈥� each time you manage to do it, one of you is saving gas, maintenance costs, and wear on your vehicle.
Share frugality tips with someone who wants to hear them. Quite often, frugality tips can be a lot of fun when you discover them, but it can be even more fun to share them with someone who鈥檚 also figuring out new ways to live and save money.
Hold each other accountable for goals set. If you set a goal for yourself, share it with your buddy and remind each other of your goals regularly. Simply knowing that your buddy knows of your goal and is watching your progress towards it can be a great motivator.
Celebrate victories together. If you achieve one of those goals, you have someone already there that knows what hard choices you鈥檝e made to achieve it and is ready to celebrate with you. There鈥檚 no one better to celebrate with at the top of thte mountain than someone who鈥檚 been there all the way through the journey.
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