written by Corey L. Stokes
In my role as the money guy in my office it was my responsibility to manage a budget of $25,000 – 80,000 per year budget. I needed to ensure those funds lasted the entire year, that we got the things we needed, and the things we wanted. I also sat through the weekly scrutiny of budget staff meeting to ensure funds were not being mishandled, and to ensure the office was on track to meet all of it’s money goals. Every month I ensured the all accounts balanced. For the time that I sat in the position. I did it successfully. So much so that my counsel was sought when I was no longer in the position. It was a job that I did well.
When i thought about it, why was it so difficult to do the same thing at home. It did not have to be as organized as the office meeting. But, why could I explain a business budget in front of a room full of people looking for me to fail, and not explain a family budget to someone who wants me to succeed.
In the past I would get frustrated because I would constantly talk about what we needed to do and the route we needed to take to get there, But I was not explaining it the way my wife needed to hear it. We’d…rather I’d spend hours explaining and we would get nowhere. Today, Michelline and I discuss our financial situation on a monthly basis, and it only take about 15 minutes!
Here is what we do:
First, We schedule a time and place to meet usually we will ave coffee or tea at the kitchen table after the kids have gone to bed. We even put it on our calendars so we don’t forget. It is our standing appointment with each other. The date is always the last sunday of the month. This way we can discuss what we didn’t do that we wanted to do; as well as what we need to do for the upcoming month.
Next, Being the techie that I am, I prepare (I’ll discuss how I prepare for budget meetings in another post) a Powerpoint presentation that answers the following 5 questions: (5 minutes tops)
-
What is our saving position?
-
What do we need to spend money on?
-
What have we accomplished? (Since the last meeting)
-
What’s on the horizon? /What bills can we pay off? / Where can we invest?
-
How do we stay motivated to continue?
Then, after I have gone through my slides We look a bit more detail at our budget. My budget sheet is a bit complicated, but could be something as simple as a list of your income and expenses. We go down the list of expenses and pay everything in our expense column (on paper) until we hit zero. Once we hit zero, we are done. (5-8 Minutes)
Finally, before we end the meeting, we agree that this is the plan that we want to take for the month, and we set the next meeting date. (1-2 Minutes)
With this format we both walk away feeling accomplished, My wife, Michelline, understands what our financial position is, and I can successfully discuss the money with my wife, without feeling frustrated.
Give it try! A few thing to remember, you will not get this right the first time. This process is how we , get things done now. but it took us a while to get here. Also remember to leave time for DISCUSSION. In the beginning there will be lots of discussion to get to an agreement. The more you do it the more proficient you will be become.
Corey Stokes 