How to better manage your family budget

Money matters are paramount in the couple. Breakdown of the tasks of each, the operating budget, joint or separate accounts, management of savings. Here are universal testimonials and especially concrete ways to better manage your family budget

All couples, whether newlyweds or marriage veterans have their own way of organizing family finances. We asked women to reveal their methods and found a variety of ways of doing things, always based on similar principles. All agree that the success of any system is excellent communication as well as shared goals and priorities.

Joint or separate accounts?

Managing better manage your family budget means dealing with the reality of limited inflows of money while adjusting spending to family priorities. For some couples, a joint account is essential for strong communication and good teamwork. Others prefer separate accounts, and still, others choose a hybrid solution. The system that suits you depends on how you communicate, your goals and your budget habits. Here’s what works for some of the women we interviewed.

Julia: “We strongly advise a joint account because married couples need to communicate and make their decisions together. ”
Victoria: “We have a joint account, as well as several others that we use for different purposes. I pay the bills and make sure everything is balanced. Communication is essential! ”
Lisa:” We have separate accounts but both our names and we will both have access equally. We do this because we are childless and we both work and it’s easier if I put my money on my side and him on his side. If I was a stay-at-home mom, we would have a joint account. ”
Kelli: “We have both joint and personal savings books because when we receive our salary, a certain amount is automatically transferred to each booklet. It allows me to buy what I want without using the money from our common booklet. ”
Mary:” We have separate accounts. Everyone pays some bills monthly. I pay the big expenses, and he pays all the rest, food included. I’m paid monthly, so it’s easier to do that. “

Even when couples join their current accounts and savings accounts, many people keep their credit card in their name for a reason crass practice: if one spouse dies and leaves debts behind him, the spouse will not have to pay them.

Some people have a long-term strategic vision. Others are more focused on daily details. There are some who sincerely like to better manage your family budget, while for others it is a real chore. Marriage is an adventure and finding out who is best for which task while distributing responsibilities according to the talents and inclinations of each one of them.

Carrie: “I develop the financial strategy plans, execute them and pay the bills. ”
Julia: “He is in charge of everything because he is a financial professional. We tried to be more involved in budget issues, but that only led to arguments about how and when to do this or that. So now I let him do everything. He asks for my opinion for most of the decisions he makes, but it is his plans that organize savings for our retirement and for children’s education. ”
Rebecca:” I take care of the majority of our finances, except that pays him some monthly bills that already concerned before our wedding. Why? Because I like to take care of our finances and hate it. ”
Sarah: “I do everyday things like paying bills, paying taxes, and so on. He manages everything related to the long term, such as our investments and our retirement. We work together about twice a year on the overall vision (such as on allocations and important business decisions) and we keep the other informed for the rest. He prefers not to get confused with the daily details … and everything about the long term worries me, so it’s a good solution.

Carefully monitor expenses

One of the most important ground rules for developing a financial plan is for both spouses to know where their money is going. Women satisfied with their current financial situation confide that the first step is to note with great rigor all entries and exits.

Anne: “For three months, we followed all our transactions, without exception. How much we spend, how, for what, etc. This allowed us to realize that we had more outflows of money than we thought. Seeing all our transactions made us more attentive and we ended up reducing our unnecessary expenses because we did not want to have to explain ourselves. ”
Krista: “The subject is not what we earn, but what we spend. We started by establishing a budget. Now we just keep the record of our expenses (we write everything we spend) to keep track of where our money is going. We always talk before a big expense. “

Follow its inputs and outputs of money is not without predicting future expenditures:
Eva: “If for Christmas he wants (within reasonable limits) to splurge on children, I just need to know the amount planned so that we can start setting aside a few months before. He on his side will work more to be able to finance it. Me from myself, I will try to be frugal and reasonable in household expenses. I take advantage of promotions as soon as possible, I negotiate if necessary, I plan meals and cooking often while being careful to tighten our budget. “

 Saving and investing

Better manage your family budget means maximizing your current resources for the future. The most prosperous couples do not only closely monitor their expenses, but they also set up an ambitious savings and investment plan.
Lisa: Spending less than you earn is not enough. For example, if you earn $ 100 and spend $ 99, you will not be able to meet your savings goals for retirement. 

You have to spend a lot less than you earn and set aside 20% of your gross income (like making it automatic when you receive your salary) so you can not touch it. Also, start saving for your retirement as soon as possible. This is not by forecasting market developments, but by spending time generating growth. “

Find mentors and financial tools to better manage your family budget

Few of us are financial experts. Most need a guide to understand the confusing world of financial management.
Tanya: “Dave Ramsey, Dave Ramsey, Dave Ramsey. His method saved our finances and our marriage. We have repaid $ 27,000 of debt in 18 months since we completed our Financial Peace University training. ”
Mary,” We are putting in place the Mint app to better plan our budget and savings. ”
Anne:” We use both the software YouNeedABudget I visit weekly to reconcile our accounts. ”
Rebecca: “I have not taken action yet, but I plan to use the Personal Capital app to keep an eye on our budget and investments.
Tanya: “I use a simple Excel sheet to avoid making miscalculations. “

Other tips:

Managing your couple account: How to do it? 

5 Suggestions to Keep Your Couple Alive