Date Night Club (January 2020): Keeping Up With the Joneses

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Just a heads up, this month’s date night may take a little longer than normal. Plan to set aside 1.5-2 hours for this date or break it up over the course of two dates.

Let's start with an icebreaker question ...

If you could model your life off of one couple – who would it be? What qualities do you want to emulate? What aspects of their life do you hope to replicate in yours?
 
Everyone wants to know – am I really on track for my financial life? Am I where I should be? Let’s make 2020 your year to get on track – beginning with a financial audit. We’ll take an honest look at where you are at and set some priorities for this year.

MONTHLY BUDGET CHECK-IN

  • Did you stay on track this month?

  • Did any surprises come up - positive or negative?

  • Did the way you used your money align with your values?

  • If you got off track, what's 1-2 steps you can each take to get back on track again?

Check out this video to get the conversation started ...

Conversation:

Give yourselves a pat on the back for making it through that audit! Way to go! Now, let’s use what you learned to set some clear priorities.
 
Taking a look at the results of the audit:

  • Are you where you want to be right now?

  • What areas are on track?

  • What areas need some work?

  • Are there other areas that we are working on that the audit didn’t take into account? (Check out my FB Live to see if I covered it there. Still not seeing it? Reply to this email and let me know the goal you’re working toward and I’ll send you some audit standards to work with.)

 
Let’s key in on your financial priorities for 2020. I put the financial audit topics in a specific order for a specific reason. Urgent concerns aside, I believe this is the order you should work on these goals in. Start with income and work from there.

  • Based on the audit, which priorities should we be working on this year and in which order? (Write them down.)

  • Are there other urgent goals not included in the audit (fixing your roof, purchasing a new car, having a baby, etc.) that we need into weave into this priority list? (Add those goals into the list.)

  • How does the SMART goal you set in the December date night fit into this priority list? Do you need to start with a different goal or is this the right one? (If you need to start with a different goal write it down and make it SMART.)

emotional CHECK-IN

Some of the goals on this list – particularly some of the ones related to income – might leave you a bit nervous, maybe even scare you a bit. It can be easy to put them off, make excuses, or just move on to more comfortable sounding goals.

  • Are there any goals on this list that give you pause? Any goals that scare you a bit? Why?

  • How can you hold each other accountable so fear doesn’t get in the way of your financial success this year?

  • How might you break down these goals so they feel a little more attainable?

SMART GOAL CHECK-IN

  • What progress have you each made toward this goal?

  • What progress would you like to make in the next month?

  • How will you hold each other accountable?

See? That wasn't as hard as you thought!

Have questions about doing a financial audit? Send me an email at: grace@classyfrugalist.com and let me know where you’re getting stuck.