Tag: family budget

dollar bill balanced on its side
Budgeting

Family Budgets – A Healthy Outlook

KarenPopeWrites

Having a family budget means, for some people, whipping out the calculator at every purchase, or viewing the budget on their mobile device in the grocery store. For others, a family budget is just a formality and they never really glance at it. Between these extremes are those who sort of use their family budget with moments of obsessive adherence, or those who try but give up altogether because they go crazy trying to keep track of all the details.

Where’s the balance? How can you maintain a healthy outlook without obsessing or ignoring your family budget?

Here are some tips on how you can cultivate a healthy outlook regarding your family budget.

dollar bill balanced on its side
Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash

Flexibility

For those who tend to err on the obsessive side, it is a good idea to remember to be flexible with your budget. Of course, flexibility does not mean ignoring your parameters. But it does mean you can take a little from one area and cut back in another when necessary.

Get Your Family On Board

Nothing can make you frustrated with a budget like lack of family participation. Family members might just rack up expenses without giving the budget a second thought, leaving you to tear your hair out trying to balance it and cover the expenses. If the whole family is included and on board with the budget, it can improve everyone’s outlook.

You Don’t Have to Keep Track of Every Penny

Some people avoid a budget because they don’t want the stress of keeping track of every cent spent. They’re right – that is stressful. But it’s not the only way. Look into budgeting in a general way, or simply work out a list of expenses, income, and how much you have in the bank right now.

Customize

Don’t be afraid to get creative with your budget, and customize it for your family’s needs. Your outlook is likely to be a lot healthier if your budget is suited for your income, expenses, and personality. Your family dynamic should be taken into consideration when you form your budget.

Forgive Yourself and Family Members

Everyone makes mistakes and breaks the budget now and then. Beating yourself up over a budget mess-up is not conducive to a healthy outlook, and neither is nagging and punishing family members. If it’s a chronic “mistake,” it may need to be addressed in a civil family meeting. But to keep a healthy outlook, let the minor offenses go.

Know When It’s a Real Emergency

What constitutes an “emergency” can differ between family members. Dipping into the emergency fund for non-emergency expenses can deplete the money pretty fast. Make sure everyone knows what a real financial emergency looks like for your family.

Budgeting

5 Clever Tips to Get the Family On Board with Budgeting

KarenPopeWrites

You’ve probably heard that getting everyone involved is important to the success of your family budget. But you may be wondering if that’s really necessary, or how to even do it. Here are some ideas and tips for getting everyone on board with your family budget.

harshil-gudka-380673
Photo by Harshil Gudka on Unsplash

 

Be Open

Sometimes parents try to hide their financial situation from their kids and/or each other. While this may seem like “sparing” the ones you love, in actuality it can cause undue stress on the one family member who does know how bad things are, or how things work financially.

It’s true that you don’t want to overburden your kids with responsibilities that aren’t theirs, but including them in a frank discussion of your financial situation can go a long way toward easing your burden and garnering their willing participation.

The Family Meeting

Call a family meeting to discuss finances. If you’ve never done a family meeting before, this is a good place to start. It may not be everyone’s favorite topic, but it’s an important one. Ultimately, your kids and spouse will be glad you included them in the discussion. Another tip on the meeting – try to call it at a time when it doesn’t cut into other plans. This should help reduce resentment.

It Affects Everyone

Explain how your family finances affect everyone in the household. Be clear and specific, citing fees, tuition, allowances, groceries, etc. and how they all cost money. There’s no need to beat everyone over the head with this information, so to speak; but it gets family members to think a bit about where the money comes from. It’s easy to take things for granted.

Cutting Back

If the budget involves cutting back, it’s probably a good idea to cut back in areas that affect the whole family rather than just one member. Otherwise, that one person may resent what seems to be preferential treatment of the others, and you’ve lost your whole-family approach to the budget.

Set Goals Together

As you work to formulate your budget, work on common goals. What would your youngest child like to see as part of the budget? She might say toys. Your oldest child might point to electronic devices as something to include; your spouse may say a nice vacation. Consider everyone’s wishes and come up with some realistic, common goals. Not everything is doable, of course; but finding creative ways to get everyone’s needs met is what family life is all about.