Welcome back to another week of The Teacher’s Salary series.
Feel free to leave me a comment or send me an email if you have any suggestions for future topics.
Click HERE to see links to some of my previous posts from this series.
As you may remember from my fall book review post, I recently completed Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace Revisited* book. One of the chapters that resonated with me the most was his chapter on communicating about money with your spouse.
Why? {My frustration}
You see, for the vast majority of our married life and certainly ever since The Teacher and I discovered and started implementing Dave’s principles, I often felt like I was carrying the load. Sure, we would agree on the budget at the beginning of each month, but in the day-to-day execution of it, I felt very alone.
I felt like I was working hard to use our cash envelopes while he always seemed to forget to grab them and have to swipe his card. And towards the end of the month, I was the one who had to gently let him know that we only had X amount of dollars left to spend. I hated those conversations because he usually ended up frustrated and confused that we had so little money left. And you know what? I started taking it personally.
I know he didn’t mean for it to come across that way, but more and more, I started feeling like I was carrying the weight of our finances. Sure, I tended to be the “nerd” and actually enjoyed crunching the numbers and working on our budget, but this feeling was not what I signed up for {Dave talks very specifically how there is typically a nerd and free spirit when it comes to budgeting and how men and women view money very differently.}.
This past fall, I stumbled upon a great article about budget meetings. At the time, The Teacher and I were sitting down at the beginning of the month to discuss our budget, so I guess we were technically already having them, but this concept of meeting each week was new for me. After reading, I was convinced that this was our ticket to working better as a team when it came to our budget. Thus, our own weekly budget check-in was born.
How it works {for us}
1. Pick a day and time
We decided to schedule ours each week on Sundays. We typically do them in the evening after the kids have gone to bed.
2. Pick a place free from distraction
We usually do them in the office so we can sit down at the computer and review our budget spreadsheet together. This allows us to also pull up any of our accounts if we would like and also keeps us from the TV temptation.
3. Come prepared
Since I am the nerd, I come with our up-to-date budget spreadsheet, our cash envelopes, and any other documents/bills that I need to discuss. Kev brings any receipts or other documents he has accumulated {since we do use our check cards for things like gas and a couple of other purchases}.
4. Keep it simple and fun
Our weekly check-ins usually don’t take longer than about 15 minutes. We get down to business and then we are done. But, if it helps you to grab a cup of coffee before you get started, then by all means do it! And if you finish early, feel free to enjoy a 10/10 with your spouse since you’ve already allocated the time. Those are pretty neat too.
Benefits we have seen
We feel more unified when it comes to our budget
We can troubleshoot together as problems arise and no one feels the sole responsibility of it. It’s also given Kev more of a day-to-day glimpse into how we are doing, so he no longer feels blindsided.
We communicate more regularly and more deliberately about our budget and finances
Our weekly budget check-in is becoming a routine when we can specifically discuss money and our budget. Before, our conversations were usually at random and when one of us wasn’t as focused {like when our children were awake}. On top of just communicating about our budget, we can also discuss how we are doing regarding meeting our financial goals.
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How do you communicate with your spouse about finances?
{Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read disclosure here.}
Love this advice! Thanks! I'm the nerd in my relationship too and I feel so much like a nag sometimes.
That's sort of how I felt – like I was always the bearer of bad news or nagging him to give me receipts. This has helped us so much! Let me know if you decide to try it and how it goes! 🙂
This article is just what I needed right now! I think a weekly check in would do so much to help my husband to feel more "in the loop." Monthly budget meetings just aren't cutting it. Thanks for the idea!
I'm so glad, Katie. They have been SO helpful to us! Even if weekly isn't possible, bi-weekly might still be helpful!! 🙂