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How To Manage Your Family Finances

A Dell can help families with one of the hardest things to overcome – the lack of communication about how much money the family has and what it is supposed to be used for.  Generally, it isn’t that members of a family do not want to communicate with each other about finances.  It is more that other things in life get in the way.  Someone buys $50 worth of groceries on the credit card but forgets to tell the other person because after the groceries were put away, the kids had an emergency.  Out of sight, out of mind.

The first thing that needs to happen in the family is for everyone involved to come to and agree to the family goals.  When each member of the family understands what he or she is sacrificing for, it will be easier for each person to make and justify the sacrifice.  Telling a child, or worse, a spouse that he or she cannot make a purchase because of the budget issues without them actually knowing what those issues are will likely just breed resentment.  Telling that same child “no,” or in the case of a spouse, he or she will already know that it is inadvisable to make the purchase,  is easier when the parent is able to give the reason’s and remind the child that the family agreed to the plan.

Once the family is on the same page, there are many different programs that can help families manage their finances and set up their income and expenditures so that they can meet goals like the next family vacation, the kids’ college and braces and an emergency fund for pet surgery or home repair.  It may take some sacrificing on each family member’s part, but the payoff will be worth it.

The simplest way to do this, but the most time consuming would be to set up a spreadsheet where each individual inputs the day’s receipts.  Spending is kept all in one neat place and a column can be added for income.  Microsoft Excel would work fine for this type of application, even if it is an inelegant solution.  Dell Computers can come with Excel installed.

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