Love… on food stamps

Maintaining a healthy relationship can be hard, and it gets even harder when you throw in such things as finances, especially in today’s economy. But what really rocks the boat is not just working with a tight budget, but also having to stretch the dollar with an unemployed partner.

Being unemployed can be a very stressful situation for anyone, and while in a relationship this stress can manifest itself in many forms such as anger, frustration, arguments, and the silent treatment not just from the unemployed partner, but also the employed partner who might be feeling resentful at having to now take on the burden of sustaining a household while carrying around a partner who has become dead weight.

But before you get flustered and give up hope on your relationship, here are a few things you might consider trying.

1. Communicate: Talking about it may set your emotions free.

2. Have an inexpensive date night: Set up a dinner for two in your back yard. There might not be champagne, but you could make some Kool Aid and put it in an old wine bottle. Be creative with it.

3. Take a walk: Take a stroll down memory lane, reminisce on the past. Make a list of the reasons why you fell in love.

4. Find ways to have fun: Invite a few friends over on the weekend and have a game night.

5. Get physical: Sex in a relationship serves many functions. It fosters intimacy, helps a couple reconnect, and it can relieve stress.

6. Find help: If you feel as if you have tried everything and nothing works, then it may be time to seek counselling.

Having an unemployed partner doesn’t mean the end of the relationship and surely should not be the main reason for a break-up. Being unemployed is never a good thing for anyone, but finding ways to cope with it and having a good support system around you might make life more bearable.