Week 5: Communicating about money
Week 5 is all about communicating about money with the people around you and working as a team on this stuff!
The three key elements we covered were...
1. How to communicate with your partner or family about money
Everything you want in life is done with and through other people. With this in mind one of the most important things you can do is to work to understand your partner, family and yourself. The better your communication around money the easier your progress will be.
One of the first elements we looked at was the differences in how we operate around money. We introduced four scales to highlight some of those difference. The homework is to mark where you (and your partner) are on them and to discuss:
Logical Levels gives us a tool to be able to look at our own world or that of our family/partner and to discuss different issues we have. Most people try and solve issues they are having at the behaviour level (i.e. you are spending too much money, not tracking) and don't realise that the issue is at a different level such as identity (I am not good with money):
Practical things you can do in this area are:
This Mad Fientist interview shares Jill and Brandon's story of how they found alignment.
The pre-work money belief survey is an interesting exercise to do with your partner or family. Fill it in independently and compare your answers.
2. The monthly finance meeting
Each month we review our finances by updating our net worth spreadsheet and looking at our spending for the month. We ask ourselves these questions:
3. How to stay on track
Choose someone to do the monthly meetings with so that you can hold each other accountable. Schedule it in each month and make it fun! We like to do ours over a leisurely breakfast. How might you make it fun and exciting for everyone?! Post in the Facebook group if you want to find a TCF buddy to do your monthly finance meetings with...
Week 5 homework
To get the most out of this course you must do the homework (plus homework is fun!)
So here is the homework for week 5...
Ask for help
Remember to reach out in the Facebook group with any questions you have or if you get stuck. Don't let confusion be an excuse for not progressing with this stuff. We are here to support you!
The three key elements we covered were...
1. How to communicate with your partner or family about money
Everything you want in life is done with and through other people. With this in mind one of the most important things you can do is to work to understand your partner, family and yourself. The better your communication around money the easier your progress will be.
One of the first elements we looked at was the differences in how we operate around money. We introduced four scales to highlight some of those difference. The homework is to mark where you (and your partner) are on them and to discuss:
- spender vs saver
- past focused/live for the moment/future focused
- towards motivated vs away motivated (the carrot and the stick)
- big picture vs detail
Logical Levels gives us a tool to be able to look at our own world or that of our family/partner and to discuss different issues we have. Most people try and solve issues they are having at the behaviour level (i.e. you are spending too much money, not tracking) and don't realise that the issue is at a different level such as identity (I am not good with money):
- Mission / Vision - Where are you heading as a couple, family or individual? Do you have a vision for life in the future?
- Identity - who are you? Are you good with money? Do you enjoy maths and spreadsheets?
- Values/beliefs - what is important to you? What do you believe to be true?
- Capabilities - what skills do you have? have you developed spreadsheet, investing or communication skills
- Behaviours - what are your daily habits?
- Environment - where do you have your monthly finance meeting? Is the environment conducive to good conversation and focus?
Practical things you can do in this area are:
- Develop a vision for your future. Share and discuss
- Work through the scales above and discuss
- Start conversations about money by asking questions
This Mad Fientist interview shares Jill and Brandon's story of how they found alignment.
The pre-work money belief survey is an interesting exercise to do with your partner or family. Fill it in independently and compare your answers.
2. The monthly finance meeting
Each month we review our finances by updating our net worth spreadsheet and looking at our spending for the month. We ask ourselves these questions:
- Any surprises? Where are you spending more or less than you realised?
- Is your spending in line with your values?
- What did you spend a lot on?
- Where could you spend less if you wanted to?
- Where could you spend more if you wanted to?
- What went well this month?
- What really added value to your life?
- What was a waste of money?
- How does net worth compare to last month?
- How does spending compare to last month?
- How does savings rate compare to last month?
3. How to stay on track
Choose someone to do the monthly meetings with so that you can hold each other accountable. Schedule it in each month and make it fun! We like to do ours over a leisurely breakfast. How might you make it fun and exciting for everyone?! Post in the Facebook group if you want to find a TCF buddy to do your monthly finance meetings with...
Week 5 homework
To get the most out of this course you must do the homework (plus homework is fun!)
So here is the homework for week 5...
- Choose who to do the finance meeting with
- Do the finance meeting for August
- Set up a recurring calendar invite to make sure it's set for future months
- Mark where you (and your partner) are on the scales and compare the results
- Have a conversation about the future with your partner/family/friend
Ask for help
Remember to reach out in the Facebook group with any questions you have or if you get stuck. Don't let confusion be an excuse for not progressing with this stuff. We are here to support you!
