The family is the smallest unit in a human society, which is built as a result of a man and a woman uniting through marriage and the raising up of children. The formation of the family is bound by many problems; whereby financial problems are the most serious ones. Without money the construction of a marriage is nearly impossible; which is at all phases started at courtship to the raising of the family (Guillermo 20-320).
There are many necessities in the raising of a marriage which range from moral support, love, and trust to financial support. Financial support is actually the stable element in the raising of families in any society. All societies, both from the developed countries and undeveloped countries find money an essential element in building a family. In nearly all societies the men are responsible for providing for the family, whereby the wife is only provided for; or bound to assist the man where necessary (Guillermo 20-32).
.Financial constraints are strong such that they stop many poor people from marrying or sometimes lead to late marriages. Ladies from all spheres; both civilized and uncivilized expect gifts from men during courtship; which may cause poor men to forego the courtship phase and remain single. On the other hand, most ladies don’t like to be associated with poor men; thus posing a big challenge to the formation of families by the men of the poor class (Jay 80-120).
Further, delayed marriages are very evident in poor societies. This is because men would prefer to look for money first before they marry thus leading to late marriages. Most relationships also break up even before marriage, due to the financial constraints involved in the preparation of a family. As an effort to avoid this, people courting may on the other side extend their courtship to stabilize their finances before marriage. This explains the difference seen in the marriages carried out within poor societies, and those in well-up societies whereby men from financially stable families tend to marry early than those from poor families (Guillermo 20-32).
Financial problems during courtship are better explained by the many requirements of ladies and the high dowry required. The cultures of nearly all societies are still very strict such that dowry payment should precede marriage; thus posing a threat to the poor. Sometimes the value quoted for dowry is such high that; most of the poor men can’t afford, or can just wait for lengthened periods of time to be able to pay these amounts. As a result, this culture of paying dowry leads to many people foregoing marriage; or delaying marriages to look for money to settle the dowry debt (Joan 34-53).
Financial requirements in marriage further lead to discrimination and social groupings in the society; whereby the rich and poor have minimal interactions. The status quo and social ranks have been difficult to break; where even love has been unable to break the barrier between the rich and the poor. Men from the rich and wealthy classes tend to marry ladies from rich families; thus enhancing financial disparities between the rich and the poor. Most people are driven and guided by the endless financial requirements in marriage, thus a person from a rich family feels uneasy to marry a poor lady since he views it as increasing his financial burden (Joan 34-53).
Finical support is really the stable element in marriage; where this is due to the endless needs of both the husband and wife not to mention those of the children. The satisfaction of basic needs to the family is not an easy task, especially to the poor. Without perseverance and understanding between the members of the family, financial constraints can lead to wrangles in the family, especially in poor societies where unemployment and little income is the order of the day; thus building up a family becomes a demanding issue. In cases where the wife does not contribute anything to the family, meeting the family’s needs becomes a real problem; which is usually evident within poor societies where family planning is not practiced thus increasing the family needs to be met (Joan 34-53).
Financial problems in the family have also led to many wrangles in the family. First, the evil of unfaithfulness among married women is evident in families with financial problems, as they at times opt to offer themselves to gain financial gains. This is the case because women may enter into this evil in order to support their children and also get money to meet other family needs. Further, the issue of children developing bad habits like stealing is also caused by the pressing financial problems within their families. The men, who are in most cases the breadwinners within the family, are also forced to get into crime so as to provide for their families; as they may have no other source of income to support their families. All these evils are not socially acceptable, but due to the endless financial needs of a family, they will remain to be rampant (Joan 34-53).
The breaking of many married couples is also common in recent days; where this scenario is best explained by the financial demands of raising a family. In the case the income of a family comes to an end; for instance, the breadwinner is sacked from a job or family business fails; a couple may divorce. This is because a family which had in the past enjoyed a steady income may find it hard to cope with the new challenges due to the endless financial needs of the family (Guillermo 20-32).
After keenly following the lives of married couples and that of a family, in particular, we find it hard for a family to live comfortably without adequate financial support. Money is really stable support to the family and thus for any family to succeed; there must be a stable source to meet the family’s endless financial requirements.
Works cited
Guillermo, Otalora. “Work-family conflict”.Madagascar: Vdm Verlag. (2008): 20-32.
Jay, Adams. “Solving marriage problems”. Michigan: Zondervan. (1986): 80-120.
Joan, Williams. “Why family and work conflict & what to do about it.” Oxford: Oxford University Press. (2001): 34-53.