My mindset in having a family budget is that it’s a tool for my wife and I to stay on the same page with our spending, our goals and for us to manage our money versus our money managing us. Here are 3 tips that work for me:

1. Have a budget - ‘You Need a Budget’ is a popular budgeting software program. As you know, I agree with the ‘need’ part no matter your financial situation. What company doesn’t have a budget? YNAB provides an automated way to track spending and maintain account balances. You can easily assign spending transactions to budget categories as well.
2. Flow with your budget - Plans can change and I believe you have to flow with them each month by moving money from category to category. There are always unexpected expenses as well, so you have to be willing to problem solve with the money you have versus mindless spending with a credit card. Overall, I just know our budget isn’t going to be perfect, so we adjust as we go.
3. Have a weekly meeting - This works well for my wife and me. We meet weekly for a few minutes to see how we’re doing. We make decisions together. We work on our financial goals together. We plan spending on fun things together. We have our own spending categories, but we manage all of our resources together. Together, we can accomplish more.

What works for you? Comment below and let me know!

If you’re interested in budget software, use this link to try YNAB free for a month and take control of your finances—gain clarity on your spending and focus on what truly matters!