No, I am not saying you need to be up to date, on the latest culinary or botanical varieties. - Though both, I am sure, can spice up - pun intended I am afraid, any life. But they are not the focus of this tome. And no, I am not suggestion you should brush up your knowledge on the multitude of 'inhaling substances' now available. You can if you want - of course, but I am not necessarily making the suggestion you do.
What I am suggesting - saying quite clearly in fact is: in a relationship neither party should EVER have to ask for money. Not kosher. And worse for the 'askee', it can feel like they are begging for money. Let me expound... Well, we all know I will.
In any inter-dependent relationship between adults, there are times occasionally when one or other party is not earning money - illness, between jobs, pregnancy, re-location etc. It behooves the income earner then to share funds with the non-money earner. Ideally that should all be laid out beforehand, and bank accounts set up accordingly. But often in the hustle and bustle of the changing circumstances and busy days, that discussion gets forgotten. And anyway, there is often the need for cold hard CASH!
Of course if either party in the relationship is addicted to spending, then this conversation is over right now. But, assuming neither party at this 'financially one-sided' period in the relationship is overtaken with addictions; it still is not comfortable for the person who is not earning to have to ask for money. As suggested above, it can feel to the 'askee' as if they are begging. (A perfectly legal profession let me hasten to add, and a much more honest and noble way of accumulating funds than say earning millions by pretending financial balances are accurate resulting in millions of people loosing their life savings - for example).
But for people who are not up to begging, there is a solution. A book. Or any place that money can be easily stashed.
The income earner can put an allotted amount of money in/on/under same, say enough to cover what ever cash is needed for a week or whatever works for you. In our case we have ..... yes, a Herb book. Whenever funds are running low, I take another Euro 50 (always 50, so I can calculate how much has been used). I leave the book out on the table so Romeo H. is aware there has been a 'movement of funds'. When he puts the book away he knows a 50 is gone and he can calculate when he needs to 're-stash the cash'. That way there doesn't come a day where there is no money and no unpleasant surprise to boot - or to book in this case!
Assuming there was a lot of discussion and pre-planning involved in the development of 'the Herb Book Method of Money Management' a very sensible money planning type person I know asked how the Herb Book Method evolved. Much as I'd love to take credit for being party to developing a money management methodology far exceeding in efficacy any thing the Irish Banking System ever came up with, alas I must reluctantly concede there was absolutely no discussion or pre-planning involved. It just 'sort of' happened. Romeo H always kept a little stash of cash in the house. One day I needed money, so I took some from the stash in the Herb Book. Fearing I would forget to tell Romeo H it was I and not the local cat burglar who had procured funds from his cash stash, I simply left the book out on the table. Romeo H being a very neat orderly sort of human, (I am not alas - but let us not go there, my day has being going perfectly well until now so why mess up the happy mood,) immediately noticed the book out of place and returned it to the shelf. It was a few days before either of us remembered to mention the incident.
We decided then to maintain the Herb Book Method of fund procurement as the status quo. And it works; the whole process is successfully completed without anyone getting to feel like they are begging a favor when they are simply getting on with life and the cost of living it.
FYI. The picture as usual has nothing much to do with the blog post. I just like the 'quietness' of it. The water birds are keeping warm together on a cold December day on Lake Konstanz. And yes, the Swiss Alps can be seen in the distance.
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