Creating a family budget that works is critical to your finances and your sanity. According to Money Magazine, 80% of couples with children argue about money.
Follow these seven steps to creating a family budget that get everyone pitching in and motivated to save.
Make YOUR Financial Goals OUR Financial Goals
Talk about those big goals like retirement, education, buying a house, family vacations and those bucket list items. Create a story around each, where each of you will be and what you’d like to do.
How Much Do You Need to Save as a Family?
Once you know what you want to do with the money, it’s time to start talking about how much money the family needs to save. That mental picture and story around each goal will help get an idea of how much it will cost.
Track Family Expenses for a Week
Most families have a more-or-less idea of how much they spend each month. The big bills from rent to car payments and utilities are all pretty much the same so you get an idea of how much it takes to make ends meet.
Create a ‘Where the Money Goes’ Budget
Writing out reality-check current budget with all the ‘little things’ expenses you found during your week of tracking your spending will open everyone’s eyes to where the family’s money is going.
Create a Family Budget to Meet Your Goals
One way to force your budget into saving is to take the amount you need to save out first, directly under income and before other expenses.