Dave Says
Advice from Nashville's leading Financial Aid Advisor Dave Ramsey
Author of Financial Peace and The Total Money Makeover
Husband paying company's finance charges?
My husband is in sales and he has to charge everything that he does for work on his credit card and then the company reimburses him. My problem is that we pay the finance charges each month because all of the expense reimbursement money doesn't come in. My second problem is that my husband is a wonderful husband, but he struggles with finances. I've taken over doing our personal bills, but he procrastinates in turning in his expense reports. We used to do pretty well with finances. When we first married and he had debt, we paid it all off. We eventually got a house and we can make our payments, but we're back in the boat of being in debt.
Faye in Nashville, TN.
Dear Faye,
So he's running up credit card debt and not getting his expense reports turned in to get the reimbursements.
I would do two things. One is the two of you need to sit down and come to an agreement. You need to tell him what you've told me. I don't think you've told him exactly what you've said here, as bluntly and honestly as you've told me. "Honey, I think you're a good man, but you're lousy with finances." You're playing footsy with him instead of telling him how this makes you feel. He's out running up credit cards and you're worried.
He doesn't know the effect this is having on you and you need to tell him. He's not a bad guy at all. He's just not a nerd - a numbers guy. He's a salesman. If he were to get a job in accounting it would destroy him. So you need to convince him to work with you and put these expense reports together. You both need to work on these budgeting issues together and he needs to be responsible because it's messing with your respect for him.
The second thing is he needs to go to his boss and see if they won't give him a credit card drawn on the company. Basically this company is borrowing money from you guys. Surely they're not that poor. I know that's a standard practice in corporate expense, but it's also very stupid that this huge corporation should have to use your money. If they won't give him a company credit card, then I'd suggest he get a debit card and only use cash he has on hand. That will prompt him to get the expense reports done.
I would not use a personal credit card for expenses because if that company goes broke and he doesn't get reimbursed, he's baked!
- Dave
8/31/2004
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