How to Deal with a Spouse Who Spends Money like Water

Coping with a spouse who spends money like water is difficult at best, and absolutely impossible at worst. It all comes down to whether or not you and your spouse can come to a workable agreement or solution to the problem. My husband is a self-admitted "free-spender"... He often spends and doesn't think about the possible impact of our budget when buying things that he wants or decides he needs. This has been a source of many arguments and stress in our marriage. When you're married to an "impulse buyer", trying to follow a monthly budget can be very stressful and very difficult. The key is to try to open up the lines of communication between you and your spouse. That being said, you can't change anyone or their habits. Change comes from within, and can not be forced by another person. Don't try to change your spouse who spends money like water. I follow a modified "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em." philosophy.No, I don't spend freely, nor am I an impulse buyer. Our monthly budget simply can not afford for both of us to spend freely or give in to impulse buying. Through mutual agreement, after many months of financial strain, arguing, marital counseling and financial counseling, we've finally hit upon a solution which works for us. I handle our monthly bills and make our monthly budget. While I am doing this, handling our monthly bills and budget, I also allow for a certain amount to be set aside for his "impulse buying." He finally understands the importance of not going "over-board" with the spending and impulse buying, and is perfectly willing to go along with whatever budget I have set up for the month, as long as there is a little bit of money for him to "play" with. He has gotten a lot better over the past few months about NOT impulse buying or over-spending, and so our finances are not as strained as they were. He even calls me before using the debit card, to make sure there's enough for him to buy something he wants!