It’s the end of the month. Now is the perfect time to plan for the next 30 days. I had no idea what I was doing in our first budget meeting. It was way too long and way too cumbersome. I showed up to the kitchen table with PowerPoint slides and printouts of all of our transactions for the cycle. By the time we spoke about our actual budget, my wife was exhausted.
For the next meeting, I kept it simple. We discussed where we were, what was coming up, and the goals that we wanted to accomplish. My wife loved it! If my wife had questions, I still had the data available to provide a detailed answer. But, I didn’t start with the details. And that is how it has been ever since. It does mean a bit of prep work for me, but I’d prepared and analyzed the data prior to the meeting anyway. When your spouse only wants to know how much money she or he can spend, it is easy for a numbers person to get lost in the details.
So, throw away the PowerPoint slides, here are a few things that you may want to consider before sitting down for your next budget meeting.
Tips for your next budget meeting
1. How well did you execute your budget last month?
Take a look at the budget you currently have. Then take a look at your spending. Does it match your budget? If not, you may need to adjust to bring the two closer together.
2. Did you meet your financial goals last month?
If yes, then think about what goals you’d like to accomplish next month. if no, ask yourself why, and determine a course of action to meet the goal next month.
3. Do you have anything big on the horizon?
To answer this question you’ll need to sit down with a calendar. Look at the next couple of months. What’s on the agenda? Do you plan to take a trip, Birthdays, Holidays, etc. add the cost for those into your budget. This way when it is time to schedule you can simply pay for it.
4. Set Goals.
What do you want to accomplish next? Do you need to save a beginner emergency fund so you can start paying off debt? Do you need to pay off your next debt? Set a goal give it an end date, then track it until it is completed. (read more about goal setting)
5. Schedule the next meeting.
Create an appointment on your calendar for your next budget meeting. In the notes section place the goals that you have set for yourself, This way you will be able to remember what you were tracking for the next meeting.
Corey Stokes 