Debt can accrue fast, really fast, sucking the nutrients from personal growth and our closest relationships. The accumulation of borrowed money from student & personal loans, credit cards, car payments, medical bills, a mortgage, can easily get out of control and impact our lives, for decades, if not given enough attention and intention. On the other hand, becoming debt free and moving towards de-stressed indebtedness and savings typically builds slowly over time - taking commitment, consistency, guidance, wise decision making, and patience.

A major factor in both borrowing and investing is the interest accrued – and, in particular, the compound interest, which is the interest paid (for debt), or received (for investing), based on the principal balance plus the accumulated interest already accrued.

As an example – if you invested 1-cent for 1-month and doubled your investment each day here’s what happens. After week 1 you’d accrue $.64, after week 2: $81.92, after week 3: $10,485.76, and at the end of the month you’d have $5,368,709.12

While this example of accumulation doubling each day is nearly unheard of, (in a short timeframe), just think about the other side of the coin and how our debt accumulates with compound interest. In reality, debt accrues at a much faster rate, due to high interest rates and fees.

For better or worse, our families and caregivers are our early models regarding money management. Also, I don’t remember being taught anything about financial literacy in grade school or high school. Maybe this is one of the reasons my generation, Gen X, carries the highest amount of consumer debt in the US.

This is such a significant issue within the health of our relationships and partnerships. Having a grasp and being on the same page with finances, improving communication, creating an effective budget/plan can influence not only the current financial situation, but your growth and your family’s future - in addition to other areas of the relationship that are also deficient and in need of some new seeds for replenishing.