Join our participants as they reduce debt and increase savings with the help of Summit financial coaches.
Jeff and Sue's Journey:
THIS IS A TEAM EFFORT
Marriage and finances can be difficult to work on together. While on this journey, we have met many people who want to know:
“How do you do it? How do you even get started? Do you really have to account for everything?”
We try a simple explanation of the steps we have done in order to get our finances under control. Budgets and goals are things that we work out together. We have both quick and long discussions regarding what we want to spend, how much we want to save and what our goals should be and if these goals are realistic. Before making purchases, we talk with each other to make sure we are on the same page with the purchases we need to make and if it’s the right time to make those purchases. Before we go grocery shopping, we consult our budget to see what we have available for the week and to see if we can cut our grocery list with items we really don’t need. We make sure we hit our savings goal every month. Project Money has taught us that our personal finances is something we work on together!
This last week, Sue had to travel to Seattle for work. Since Sue was gone, Jeff had to do the weekly expenses on his own. He managed to get the transfers done, but was unsure about how to “close out” the week. We tried to do it over the phone, but frustration set in and we tabled it until Sue got back home. Another reason why our finances need to have both of us involved. One person cannot be responsible for maintaining the finances; it needs the input and attention of both individuals. We both have to know how to work with our accounts and Summit’s Climbr program.
Finances can be tricky in some marriages. We grew up at a time where all you needed was a checking account and a savings account; look at us now with our 11 savings accounts! It is funny because some people have actually told us they could never do anything like Project Money because they would never want their spouse to know how they are spending their money. How sad is that? One thing we have truly realized is that it takes both of us to be devoted to making this work. We have to divulge our spending habits. We don’t hide anything from each other, nor do we hold one another back. We have to work as a team in order to be successful. This is another thanks to Project Money – here we are, still learning how to work together after 33 years of marriage. You are never too old!