Whether you’re married, partnered up, living with a roommate, have adult children or have family living with you, if you share the same roof, you are, in some way, responsible to contribute to the household.
According to a Harris Poll from Bloomberg, 45% of US adults aged 18-29 are living at home with their parents.
On top of this, nearly half (47%) of the Sandwich Generation are supporting a parent 65 or older, as well as children of their own.
A regular household financial wellness check-in involving every accountable person is a practical way to get on the same financial page and leverage everyone’s talents to get the best outcomes. (And to potentially avoid arguments and miscommunication.)
The best laid financial plans for a household needs the collaboration of every member, rather than each person working individually on financial matters.
This isn’t to say you need to blend everything as soon as you live together. But it does point to the need to at least be on the same page when it comes to how you pay for your household, shared expenses, and more.
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The Money Problem in the Household
If you search for money management tips and techniques, you’ll find a never-ending list of brilliant ideas for improving your finances.
For the most part, this advice and the associated tools usually fall into one of three categories:
- Theories and practical concepts
- Educational programs
- Commitments
So many of these suggestions are related to personal money, but they overlook the additional interpersonal component of sharing finances.
Money is only a tool to assist us in obtaining our goals.
In a partnership, couples seldom disagree over the tool. They disagree on how to utilize the tool and what they want to create with it. You’re going to quarrel and become upset if your financial objectives differ from your partner’s.
Household financial objectives that are jointly agreed upon and written down are the most effective approach to reduce money fights in a marriage – but these same tools can be just as effective when you share household expenses with any other adults.
And here’s where the Financial Wellness Check-in comes in.
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The Household Financial Wellness Check-in
Fortunately, there is a straightforward solution to the majority of household money issues that arise between adults. It’s called the Household Financial Wellness Check-in, and it only takes ten to fifteen minutes each week, once you get the hang of it.
Pre-planning.
Talk to everyone in the household, explain what you’re trying to achieve and agree with your partner, spouse, parent, etc. to meet every week at the same time, on the same day.
Each of you must bring your updated financial statuses to the table (credit, savings, cards, or pre-paid).
In your pre-planning/initial meeting, open the conversation to talk about financial objectives that you need to cover, such as:
- holiday plans
- retirement
- savings
- student loan debt
- social security or medical bills
- property
- debt relief
- and so on
Being clear about what everyone is responsible for up front also helps avoid confusion in the long run. be specific about things as much as possible, such as:
- Does Grandma pay for her own prescriptions?
- Is your 27-year-old covering partial grocery or rent costs?
- How, when and who are they accountable to pay?
- Do you all contribute to a vacation fund? How much does each person pay?
- Does each roommate split the bills down the middle? What accounts are in what name?
SMART goals.
Next, make a list of one to three precise, quantifiable, achievable, relevant, and feasible goals (SMART goals).
Post the goal(s) at the location where your weekly huddle will take place. These can be individual goals, as well as overall household goals.
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The actual Household Financial Wellness Check-in.
Now that you’ve all put the work in to set expectations, goals and responsibilities, go to your first meeting!
- Review your home financial objectives at the financial checkup (1 minute)
- Take note of the existing balances in your accounts (1 to 2 minutes)
- Determine who will pay the bills due in the next two weeks, as well as whether you will pay them with cash, debit, check, or online. (1 to 5 minutes)
- Talk about what you can do this week to save extra funds towards your family’s financial objectives. (1 – 2 minutes)
- Provide updates for each person’s individual goals (1 – 2 minutes)
That is all there is to it. Simple! Instead of everyone dealing with personal finance concerns, you’ve created a household financial partnership with these simple rules.
It’s not only an important way to make sure all of the financial responsibilities are covered, it’s a fabulous way to connect, learn from each other, stay on track and address issues before they arise.
**Note: Some of these points may be unnecessary or too personal to cover, such as sharing account balances. For couples, this might make more sense, but for roommates, probably not. Adjust to suit your personal household configuration.
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If you’d like to take it a step further, add 2 or 3 minutes to share a personal financial recommendation or tip you read or heard about throughout the week.
If you decide to go this route, keep the following in mind:
Share your opinions by saying, “I felt this was fascinating,” instead of, “YOU would find this interesting.” Telling other adults that they need to utilize this concept or technique is not a good idea.
Only include this part if everyone agrees to it, and approach it as an opportunity to help each other improve. Sharing practical ideas and techniques has the risk of seeming self-righteous.
Once everyone sees how this concept has potential, they will adjust. Any sense of being forced will likely lead to animosity and the end of your weekly huddles.
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Household Financial Wellness Check-in: Final Thoughts
So, you are ready to go!
Making financial wellness a habit can save you from so much stress in the long term. If a weekly financial wellness check-in seems like overkill, do it once a month. But make sure you do it!
Editor’s note: This article was originally published Sep 29, 2021 and has been updated to improve reader experience.
