Are you tired of fighting with your spouse over money?
Are you tired of fighting with your spouse over money?
Money is one of the top reasons why couples fight. Money is one of the top reasons cited for divorce.
In God We Trust
Isn’t it interesting that imprinted on our money is the phrase, “In God We Trust” however it can be one of the most difficult things for us to trust God in this area of our lives?
The Monthly Budget Meeting
My wife, Shannon and I are big fans of “Financial Peace University.” It changed our lives. It also taught us to get on the same page financially. When couples tell me that they are not on the same page I like to ask them, “Can I see the page?” Yes, you guessed it, there isn’t usually a page.
Our Financial System
• Every month we set an appointment on the calendar to review our finances.
• We tell every dollar where to go in our budget. If you don’t tell everyone of them where to go those guys will run away and you’ll never find out where they went.
• We use mint to track all of our expenses. This gives us real-time data as to where our money is going and where we are on our agreed upon budgets.
Meeting Expectations and Agreements
• We will shoot to have our meetings on the 31st however as we communicate and we talk about how much savings. The amount stated on the budget meeting is the amount for the previous month.
• If we go 2 consecutive months staying in the red zone then we will up that budget account.
• If we go 3 consecutive months staying in the green zone then we have the choice to take money out of that account or to lower the monthly account budget.
• Go over uncategorized expenses 1st
• Next, we go through budget items so we can stimulate if needed out of the contingency or savings fund.
• Plan for the budget meeting to last at least 90 minutes.
• Any new auto debits should be on the 15th
• Shannon will reconcile with our bank accounts.
2018 Goals
- Keep 6 months in savings
- Continue to contribute to our Retirement Plan & Kids College Plans
- Review our retirement statements quarterly
- Achieve our Tithe & Offering Goals
- 3 Quotes for any purchase above $500
Pray Before You Pay
When it comes to non-budgeted items that are at these financial levels we give ourselves time to pray so that we aren’t acting on impulse.
• $500 – $1000 Wait and pray for 3 days
• $1000-$4999 – wait and pray 1 week.
• $5000 + – wait and pray for one month.
This is a system that we have been working on for the past 19 years. It wasn’t developed overnight.
I would encourage you to attend a Financial Peace Course to help you get out of debt, learn how to manage your budget, and live in peace.
What system do you have?
Do you have any tools that you would recommend?
What has been helpful to lower the financial tension in your marriage?
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