What do you do when your spouse will not stop overspending and puts you into debt risking financial problems? I do not believe in divorce for this reason.<\/p>\n
Thanks!<\/p>\n\t
There are limits to what can be done, but there are measures you can take to reduce the damage.<\/p>\n
Normally I would expect a couple to share their bank accounts, but when one spouse is being irresponsible to the financial welfare of the family the best solution is to split the accounts. One is the family account that both have access to. The other is the account that only the responsible person has access to. A budgeted amount is placed each month in the shared account and this is what the spendthrift spouse uses. If the spendthrift spouse also has income, then that also goes into the shared account. Certain categories of bills are paid from this account, but none are critical to the family. The private account is used to pay all other bills, including the critical bills.<\/p>\n
If the spendthrift constantly overdraws, use an account that doesn’t allow overdrafts. The spendthrift gets a debit card tied to this account but not a credit card. Of course, you cannot prevent the spendthrift from getting his or her own card, but you can insist that it is in the spendthrift’s name only. You may need to check with a lawyer or financial expert to make sure that the spendthrift’s debt doesn’t become your own.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: What do you do when your spouse will not stop overspending and puts you into debt risking financial problems? I do not believe in divorce for this reason. Thanks! Answer: There are limits to what can be done, but there are measures you can take to reduce the damage. Normally I would expect a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[64,258],"class_list":["post-42692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-marriage","tag-money-management"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":25379,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-a-spouse-texting-people-of-the-opposite-sex-is-that-adultery\/","url_meta":{"origin":42692,"position":0},"title":"Is a spouse texting people of the opposite sex, is that adultery?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 27, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If you are married and your spouse is texting other people outside the marriage of the opposite sex, is that a form of cheating or adultery? Answer: No. Adultery is having sex with someone when either is married to someone else. People talk with other people all the time\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18962,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-to-self-pleasure-while-thinking-of-a-spouse\/","url_meta":{"origin":42692,"position":1},"title":"Is it wrong to self-pleasure while thinking of a spouse?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 2, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am wondering what your opinion is on self-pleasure while thinking of a spouse. It is not adultery because you are married to that person, and I am not sure if lust still applies when you are married. Answer: I know of no argument against it other than if\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":37195,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-the-other-spouse-refuses-to-reconcile-can-he-remarry\/","url_meta":{"origin":42692,"position":2},"title":"If the other spouse refuses to reconcile, can he remarry?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 16, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question. If someone divorces their spouse and then tries to reconcile with them, and in the middle of reconciling, the other decides they wanted to be with someone else. Is the one who tried to reconcile able to remarry? Answer: The only reason given that allows\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":85704,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-you-deal-with-a-spouse-who-isnt-living-a-godly-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":42692,"position":3},"title":"How do you deal with a spouse who isn’t living a godly life?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 17, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How does a married person obey I Corinthians 5:9-11 in regards to avoiding eating or associating with such a person when the person he is married to claims to have accepted Christ as her Savior but repeatedly commits physical, emotional, and online adultery? What do you do when you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":49679,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-a-person-is-divorced-for-fornication-does-that-mean-he-cannot-reconcile-with-his-former-spouse\/","url_meta":{"origin":42692,"position":4},"title":"If a person is divorced for fornication, does that mean he cannot reconcile with his former spouse?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 29, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi Jeff, I talked about the subject of divorce and remarriage with a preacher. I listened to what he said carefully but couldn't prove him wrong. I don't want to let my biases get in the way, but we're not in agreement. I told him I won't preach on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34342,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-a-person-is-divorced-because-of-adultery-can-he-remarry-his-ex-spouse\/","url_meta":{"origin":42692,"position":5},"title":"If a person is divorced because of adultery, can he remarry his ex-spouse?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 7, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Can a spouse who has been put away for the cause of adultery, be reconciled to the innocent party if the innocent party so desires according to I Corinthians 7:11? Answer: Of course. Jesus' statement in Matthew 19:9 is an allowance, not a requirement. 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