Financial inventory

This is an inventory to take and then share with your partner.

It is important to be honest with yourself and with your partner about your finances.  It may be awkward or even painful to share your financial realities, but part of your relationship is learning to work through challenges and being honest with one another.  Becoming a team when dealing with money can be one of the greatest obstacles you face.  There are no right or wrong answers. This is not about judgment on your spending. It’s about knowing your tendencies and being able to work together, “for richer and for poorer”. 

·         When it comes to spending, do you buy what you want when you want it, whether you pay in cash or credit?

·         Do you like to pay cash for things, even if it means saving up for awhile and having to wait to get what you want?

·         Is having the newest technology important to you?

·         When paying your debt, do you pay the minimum payment or pay extra? If you pay extra, how much extra and how often?

·         I have $__________ in student debt

·         I have $__________ in credit card debt

·         I have $__________ left to pay on my car

·         I owe $ ___________ to _________________

·         I have $____________ in savings

·         I have $____________ in investments

·         Do you have a retirement account? How much do you put into it? How often?

·         I think we should have a shared account to pay our bills and we should each contribute $________ to that account each _________ (how often)

·         I think we should each have separate accounts for our own personal expenses and spending.  I think we should each get $___________ a month in *allowance* for that account

·         It’s important to me to buy gifts for people at birthdays and Christmas.  The people I like to include are: ______________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________

·         I like to take vacations every ______________. Normally when I vacation it costs $__________ for travel, $_________ for food, $___________ for entertainment, and $___________ for lodging

·         My parents modeled ____________ budgeting. 

o   They regularly overspent and have large credit card debt

o   They were very frugal

o   They were savers

o   They were investors

o   They were givers and shared their money with others

·         Is it important to you to tithe? Why or why not? If so, how much? 

·         What charities do you currently give to? Which do you wish to give to in the future?

·         When you are feeling bad/sad/frustrated, do you go shopping to relieve the stress?

·         My favorite place to spend money is ______________________ (games, food, entertainment, travel, gifts, technology, etc)

·         Do you like to gamble? If so, how often? How much money do you normally take with you?

·         One area of spending I would not be willing to give up is __________________.