Finances are one of those things that is easier to let someone else handle – your husband or wife, an accountant, a broker. Maybe you think it’s too scary or over your head. Or you don’t like to deal with numbers.
But, you need to be involved in your finances. You need to know your net worth and how much debt you have. You need to know your credit score.
Otherwise, how will you make good decisions with your money?
If your budget is to pay the bills and if you have money left, do whatever you want with it, you may not be going where your goals are.
If I want to be able to travel or go to plays, then I need to save for them.
If you want to get out of debt, you need a plan.
If you aren’t spending and saving your money based on your values, you will not be as fulfilled no matter how much money you have.
So get together with your spouse or your checkbook and find out for yourself how much is coming in and how much is going out. And does the way you spend and save your money reflect your values?
How are you going to get your financial house in order?
We just had our second meeting today with a financial planner, who is taking all our info and telling us how far behind we are in preparing for retirement, LOL!
Seriously, I am so glad that we finally have done this, because I’ve been feeling quite nervous about where we are in preparing for things. I turn 50 this year, and DH is a little older than me, so we really have 10 or so good earning years to be ready.
Nice, timely post.
I was thinking about this today. I’ve decided that, until I do some major decluttering in the my office, I will download a budgeting excel spreadsheet to start regaining control of my finances. Then, after creating a spending plan and tracking my family’s spending for a few months, I’ll have a better vantage point of what steps to take.
Good Michelle and Janet – we think it’s scary but it feels so much better when we know where we stand.
Have to say my husband and I have started using a financial tracking/budgeting program called YNAB. The methodology is worth looking at whether you are interested in the program or not. Among other real life tips, it calls for a monthly meeting where you (and your spouse if married) sit down to look at your spending from the past month, and make decisions about the upcoming month. It’s made a BIG difference for us (more than I would have thought) and I highly recommend it.
I love this idea Laura, thanks for sharing!