OJO Images Ltd/Alamy If you're the household money manager, you know how hard it can be to get everyone to stick to the family budget. It's time to stop feeling like you're in this fight all by yourself. Follow these five tips to get everyone in your family on the same financial page, with as little resistance as possible. 1. Create a Budget Together Most people, from young children to grownup spouses, dislike being told what to do. If you're imposing budget rules from on high with no explanation and no opportunity for anyone to weigh in, it's only natural to face some friction. To get everyone to feel an equal ownership of the budget, sit down with your family and go over each budget category together. Listen to any concerns or disagreements and address them, changing a category where there's a good reason for doing so or explaining why you're not changing a category should that be the best route. The key here is transparency. When everyone knows the rulebook they're following, and why they're following it, it will be easier for them to stick to it and will eliminate some resistance. 2. Track Your Spending It's impossible to stay on budget if you don't know how much everyone is spending. Track everything from monthly bills to your children's allowances to make sure you're all staying within the limits you've set. If you notice you're beginning to veer, you can readjust. How you track your spending is up to you. From the old-school envelope system to high-tech budgeting programs, there are plenty of systems. Choose the one that feels the most intuitive to you, and you'll find it easier to keep on top of things. Here's one alternate strategy: Pull your savings off the top, then spend the rest. It's the easiest budget imaginable, since it doesn't involve any tracking. 3. Hold Weekly Family Budget Meetings You can't predict every expense that will pop up, but if you hold weekly budget meetings, it will be easier to anticipate as many as possible. Avoid being seized by last-minute money requests by setting a standing date on the calendar for a time you know all of your family members will be free (like Sunday evenings). Ten to 15 minutes should be enough, and it can save you all sorts of headaches. Ask anyone if they have any new expenses coming up, like your daughter's school field trip or your spouse's lunch with an old friend. Work together to decide how you will fit these things into the budget, then check in with everyone individually to let them know how they're doing with their spending and if they need to make any corrections. Be sure to also praise the heck out of anyone who's done especially well. 4. Don't Be a Dictator Listen to everyone's input, and if someone has a problem with something in the budget, discuss it with them patiently and honestly. You still have infinitely more final say than your children, but by hearing them out and giving them a chance to speak their mind, you let them know you value their opinions and that when you make a decision they don't like, there is good reason behind it. Will this totally eliminate all grumbling? Of course not. But it will help reduce it. 5. Ask for Help Just because you're the budget master doesn't mean all the weight of your household finances should be completely on your shoulders. You and your spouse should discuss big financial decisions together, and if you need help, don't hesitate to recruit the rest of your family. One of the secrets of a good leader is that they know when to delegate.
Managed to get that raise or promotion? Fantastic -- now don't go out there and spend it all immediately. In classic "keeping up with the Joneses" fashion, too many of us see an increase in salary or a sudden windfall (like an inheritance) as an excuse to take our lifestyle up a notch. We buy bigger houses than we need, get the latest gadgets even though ours work just fine,and spring for fancy steak dinners just because we can.
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