Category Archives: Money

Looking to level up your family’s finances? you came to the right place! Here are all the posts related to personal finance, including money management, financial freedom, and family budgets!

Money, Podcast

Should We Switch to a Credit Union?

 Are you frustrated with your bank? Are you getting hit with needless fees? Or feeling like you have to fight to get some good customer service?

Today, we're going to look at credit unions and we're going to see why they may be the right option for you.  

Why Where You Bank Matters

One of the most important decisions you can make with your money is choosing where you bank because it's the foundation of your family's finances. 

Ideally, you want a banking system that allows you to take care of your essential bills, save up for important goals, and set aside something for fun, like vacations.

As you heard in the teaser, though – that can be difficult when your bank is working against your best interest. 

The good news is that those banks that are on the news aren’t your only option. 

You can get better services and competitive rates by moving your money. One overlooked option that can give you both is switching to a credit union.

Joe Mecca from Coastal Federal Credit Union and I are discussing and answering some big questions families typically have about credit unions. 

Now, if you’ve been a part of this community, you already know Coastal Credit Union is a sponsor. However, you may not know that we have been members of Coastal years before they came on board here. 

I’ll include a link so you can hear the details, but a very long story short, we had been burned and were frustrated by our old bank, which happened to be one of the big banks. I’m almost embarrassed at how long we waited, but finally, we had enough, so we looked for other options. 

Eventually, I discovered Coastal and yeah, it’s been like night and day. We've been happy with their service. I’d like you to have the same win.

Whether you're in this area and you use Coastal, some other credit union, or a different banking option, the key thing is I want you to review your finances and make sure you're happy with whoever you decide to bank with.

In this episode, we’ll get into:

  • How credit unions work
  • Benefits of being a credit union member
  • How Coastal works for the community

We have a lot to cover, so let’s get started! 

Resources to Easily Manage Your Money

Your money should be working as hard as you, but managing it should be easy. Here are some of my favorite tools and resources to stay on top of your finances!

Thank You to Our Sponsor Coastal!

Support for this podcast comes from Coastal Credit Union! Come check out Coastal today if you’re living in the Raleigh Durham area and looking to bank better.

As a credit union, Coastal serves its members first and foremost including an annual loyalty bonus.

We've been members for years and love their service and competitive rates on checking and savings accounts!

Rollover Your 401(k) Easily with Capitalize

We’re grateful for wonderful partners like Capitalize. Not only do they support the podcast, but they help make managing your money so much easier. 

Did you know that it’s estimated that there are currently over 24 million “forgotten” 401(k) accounts? In fact, the average American changes jobs every 4 years. 

And because of the Great Resignation, you or someone you know might be changing jobs even more 

It’s an extreme case of out of sight and out of mind. Is your old 401(k) in there somewhere, left behind at a job you're no longer with?

One huge benefit of an IRA is choosing how your money is invested, not your old employer. 

If you want to consolidate your old 401(k) and have more options with how you invest, it may be time to roll them over into an IRA.  

With Capitalize, they handle the process from start to finish – for FREE and yes that includes calling the 401(k) provider on your behalf. 

Find out how and get started today! 

Should We Move Our Money to a Credit Union?

Elle Martinez: If there's one of those key decisions that we make, it's where we bank and how we bank, right? Because that's the foundation of our finances especially checking in savings.

As you go further along with your financial journey, you're talking about investments, maybe getting some advice, buying a home, maybe starting a business.

If you don't have that foundation, it can be so frustrating. People are quite frankly, feeling like they're getting nickled and dime with where they're currently banking with, but they're not sure where they should move their money.

I would love for you to maybe give someone who's not familiar with what credit unions have to offer, or it's been a while since they looked at credit unions, why they should seriously consider moving their money there.

Joe Mecca: Sure. I'm, again, I'm always gonna be a cheerleader for credit unions. Mm-hmm. If I didn't work for one, I'd still probably have all my money here just because of the nature of who a credit union is and how they work for, for consumers.

For those that don't know, credit union operates much like a bank, but structured very differently. Your big banks are Wall Street institutions that are designed to make money for shareholders.

A credit union is a cooper so we are owned by our members. The people who come in are essentially our customers are also our owners. We are obligated by the nature of who we are, by our purpose, to do what's best for our membership.

That usually comes through in a number of different ways. We see better rates on deposits and usually better rates on loans and then lower fees or fewer fees. So those are kind of three big differentiators that a member of a credit union would see versus doing business with the bank because we're, again, we're obligated to do what's best for our membership.

If we make a little bit extra money, we can return that to our members, whereas a, corporate bank would be obligated to give that money to their shareholders.

So you don't see any benefit from them making a little bit extra but a member of a credit union would see the benefit in that it comes back.

Yeah, and I think this is significant. I've been a coastal member at least seven years. I gotta double check. It's been a while.

We've been happy as members ourselves. We might be a little biased, but we not only use Coastal for our basic checking, savings accounts, but we got our mortgage through them and I did notice a difference.

This is our second mortgage. Our first house was with a bigger bank, which I will not name and the experience to me felt completely different in a good way with coastal local community based. It was great I was going in the branch having these conversations and it felt more like someone walking us step by step and looking beyond just the numbers, having conversations besides buying a house, what other goals you wanna have.

And I'm not saying all banks are bad. You know, we're at the incentives. And then also how are you feeling with the customer service?

I felt like Coastal was a little more holistic versus with the big bank, I felt like literally we were just our case number.

That's the conversation I believe all families should have is where we bank, how do we feel? Do we feel like we're being treated as VIPs? Whether how much is in our bank account or is this a matter of they're just gonna open an account and we never hear from them again.

So that's something I've appreciated about Coastal and like you mentioned, Coastal has a lot of different accounts. Some people may automatically know you got the checking and savings, but Coastal offers a lot more than that. Even more than some typical credit unions. Do you mind going over some of the special feature.

Oh sure. Yeah, we do really a full slate of financial products and services.

We're gonna offer pretty much everything that you're gonna be able to get at the biggest banks. A lot of people think credit unions are small and don't always have that full offering, but, you've mentioned that we've got, checking accounts, savings accounts, course, that's pretty standard.

We do money market, we do certificates, and that's on the deposit side over on the loan side. Not just personal loans and auto loans, but definitely mortgages, home equity products and credit cards as well.

So really all of somebody's day to day financial needs and helping them with all their major purchases are things that the credit union's gonna be able to, to provide.

Elle Martinez: Yeah, absolutely and I know you guys have a wealth management service. I would say you guys have a really good web presence, which for some people might not be a big deal, but I know for my husband and I, we do a lot of online banking using our apps.

If I get checks, deposit it through the phone and everything, and Coastal has a seamless, app, digital platform for that.

For those that maybe it's been a few years since they checked out credit unions and that's a hold up or something that they were worried about. I would say credit unions have gotten better and Coastal's done a really good job with that.

Even options like the card nav. I've become such a nerd with some of the tech that you guys are doing right now with the finances.

Joe Mecca: That's one of my favorites too, you know, like turning my turning my cards on and off and, and trying to do anything I can to mitigate fraud or mitigate loss and just get those alerts whenever the cards used.

Elle Martinez: I like that you have those options. I think nowadays, because again, a lot of it's digital. Unfortunately, a lot of scammers, you have people skimming the credit card numbers. Any kind of protection you can get with your accounts where you have control over it, I think is a huge plus.

Besides the financial services, something I wanted to talk to you about is going with a, community bank or a credit union. One of the pluses to me is how involved it is within the community.

Coastal just this summer I was noticing a lot of participation including recently you have invested half a million. Coastal has the foundation into affordable housing solutions in the area. I'd love to know, how is that a priority with coastal deciding which programs to get involved in? Kind of

Joe Mecca: wanna get the scoop on that. So, and we've been doing work through our foundation for a number of years, but it's definitely a growing presence for us.

Mm-hmm. Yeah, as a cooperative concern for community is actually one of our operating principles.

We always wanna make sure that we're doing what's best for not just, you know, our members and our employees, but, The community around them. You need to have, have a healthy, thriving community in order for your membership to get the maximum benefit.

We try to work with nonprofit organizations in our area that are really hitting on projects that fit well within also our expertise and things that we're able to not just provide funding for, but even some guidance and some extra help.

Just because of the nature of the business that we're in and, what we're capable of providing. One of the areas of focus for our foundation is, helping affordable housing. It's definitely a growing need in our area.

I think for a long time. Mm-hmm. This was viewed as an area that had extremely affordable housing by comparison to other markets. Yeah. Despite the rapid growth of the area, it was a lot cheaper here to get a home than say like Boston or San Francisco or something like that.

But we started to see in the last several years that home prices are really starting to tick up. It's hard and harder to find land to build on. Rents are skyrocketing. Yeah. So all the way around the affordable housing is definitely becoming concerned for this area and we wanted to make sure that we were addressing it.

A couple years ago we actually added that to one of our foundation's areas of focus and him been on the lookout for projects that really fit into that. We've worked with Habitat for Humanity for a number of years and have helped provided low cost loans for their clients. Mm-hmm.

This year we really saw some opportunities to step up in a number of ways. And in August announced that we were gonna do a half million dollars in grants. All for affordable housing and, and projects that are, loosely tied together in some ways.

We're funding a project to build affordable housing, affordable apartments in Chapel Hill. We're helping build habitat houses in Orange County and Durham County. We're working to, support a couple other organizations, a couple other projects, and then this year we're actually partnered with United Way and Band together for their concert in October to help raise money for actually all of the organizations that we've supported individually.

I think it's nine or 11 organizations total that are gonna benefit and they're all focused on affordable housing this year as well so really trying to step up and help, get some momentum behind some of the projects that are going on locally that might help combat the rising housing costs.

Elle Martinez: Absolutely. I think that's in the minds of so many families. I know for those who already have a home in the area, it's a good thing.

At the same time, those who wanna make that transition, they're having a harder time like you mentioned with Rent Rising. Some were trying to save up for a home, but now the rent just jumped up.

Again, I saw 22% in Durham, and I believe in Raleigh was around that maybe a little bit more per year. That cuts into savings for future things like buying a house and I think this is just important to mention because yes, of course we wanna whoever we bank with wanna make sure that our finances are taken care of.

We get in some competitive rates, whether that's on the saving sides on the loan side, but I think many people are also asking themselves, if I'm gonna move my money, if I'm gonna, make this effort and switch, why not do it with a banking option that's treating me well, but hopefully also the community it's in.

I think that is something that people are considering more in addition to maybe the financial benefits. To wrap up, I do wanna point out that Coastal has some pretty impressive programs and extra bits that can help families make real progress with their finances besides, the basic stuff.

We got our mortgage through Coastal, but we also used Daymark Reality to find our House. Very happy. Loved the team. Made the process so stress free.

Then my husband and I of all times, Joe, we bought a , We bought a car two months before the pandemic, but we used the auto smartt.

Oh, nice, nice. Yeah. Yeah. And got a great deal and it. We went to a dealership and they were great, but that was one of the things I didn't wanna do a dealership cuz I was afraid about the price. But Coastal had that, they honored the price and we were out there, same day, got a card that we love.

Two and a half years later and barely has any miles on it but we still got a great deal.

Joe Mecca: I can completely hear you on that one. I actually had to do a little maintenance on my car yesterday and I went to go, log it and see where I was. Yeah, I just outta curiosity, look back at, you know, what kind of mileage I'd put on in the last year and, and it's only been 4,000 miles, so that car might last me a couple more years, but yeah, you did mention auto smartt.

That's actually a pretty awesome tool that's on our website and lets people, search for both new and used cars in this market. You get some really good pricing out of and it's a lot of note hassle.

Daymark again, always great. I'm actually using them right now, so, Oh, nice. Hopefully that works out pretty well for us. Earlier you talked about our wealth management services as well, so that would kind of handle all of the more complex and little higher level financial needs. People doing retirement planning. Mm-hmm. and asset protection insurance.

Even helping set aside money for, college savings and that kind of thing. So, as far as product services, financial services, we've got it covered. Yeah, we can do pretty much anything somebody's gonna need but we're gonna do it with a different focus and the focus is gonna be you.

Support the Podcast!

Thank you so much for listening to the podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and found it helpful, here are some ways to support it.

  • Spread the word! If you enjoyed this episode and think it can help a buddy get on the path to dumping debt and become financially free, please share.
  • Leave a review. Honest feedback and reviews make a big difference and gets the word out about the podcast. Leave your review on Apple or Stitcher.
  • Grab a copy of Jumpstart Your Marriage and Your Money. My book is designed for a busy couple to set up their finances in 4 weeks. Get tips and tools that have worked for other couples on their journey of building their marriage and wealth together!
Money, Podcast

How to Maximize Your Work Benefits During Open Enrollment

 Open enrollment season is here and I want you to be prepared. Learn how you can avoid some of the biggest mistakes and instead maximize your workplace benefits to their fullest potential!

Open Enrollment FAQs 

How would you like to help set up your finances for this next year so that it runs smoother and that you are going to be hitting your money goals faster?

That might very well be the case if you take time this weekend to go over your options with open enrollment.

I know it might not seem like the most exciting thing when you get that packet, but you can have a huge insignificant one with your finances if you take the time to really research your options and make sure that you're maximizing your benefits.

With open enrollment health insurance is typically the biggest decision families worry about an understandably. You're trying to strike that balance of getting the best coverage for your family at an affordable price, which can be a struggle. However, that's just one piece.

There are other benefits that I want to make sure you are maximizing as much as possible. How do you know where to start and which workplace benefits you should focus on?

That's why I want to share a discussion I had with Matt minor awhile ago about which areas to give your attention to and what essential conversations you should be having as a family to get a clearer picture of optimizing your workplace benefits.

Matt is a fee only fiduciary advisor with Miner Wealth Management and he specializes in helping families make sure that their finances are aligned with their goals, priorities, and values. He's also the creator and host of the work pants, finance podcast.

In this episode, we're going to be covering:

  • some of the most common and biggest mistakes families make when they go through open enrollment with their benefits
  • how disability insurance works and why you should consider it, even if you are young and healthy
  • what to look out for for other possible benefits and keeping an eye on your 401(k)

Hope you enjoy!

Resources to Maximize Your Family's Finances 

If you want to chat more about creating better money habits, questions, or share your own tips, please join us at Thriving Families on Facebook.

Thank You to Our Sponsor Coastal!

Support for this podcast comes from Coastal Credit Union! Come check out Coastal today if you’re living in the Raleigh Durham area and looking to bank better.

As a credit union, Coastal serves its members first and foremost including an annual loyalty bonus.

We've been members for years and love their service and competitive rates on checking and savings accounts!

Rollover Your 401(k) Easily with Capitalize

We’re grateful for wonderful partners like Capitalize. Not only do they support the podcast, but they help make managing your money so much easier. 

Did you know that it’s estimated that there are currently over 24 million “forgotten” 401(k) accounts? In fact, the average American changes jobs every 4 years. 

And because of the Great Resignation, you or someone you know might be changing jobs even more 

It’s an extreme case of out of sight and out of mind. Is your old 401(k) in there somewhere, left behind at a job you're no longer with?

One huge benefit of an IRA is choosing how your money is invested, not your old employer. 

If you want to consolidate your old 401(k) and have more options with how you invest, it may be time to roll them over into an IRA.  

With Capitalize, they handle the process from start to finish – for FREE and yes that includes calling the 401(k) provider on your behalf. 

Find out how and get started today! 

Support the Podcast!

Thank you so much for listening to the podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and found it helpful, here are some ways to support it.

  • Spread the word! If you enjoyed this episode and think it can help a buddy get on the path to dumping debt and become financially free, please share.
  • Leave a review. Honest feedback and reviews make a big difference and gets the word out about the podcast. Leave your review on Apple or Stitcher.
  • Grab a copy of Jumpstart Your Marriage and Your Money. My book is designed for a busy couple to set up their finances in 4 weeks. Get tips and tools that have worked for other couples on their journey of building their marriage and wealth together!
Money, Podcast

When’s the Best Time to Buy Stuff, Find Deals, and Travel?

Want to maximize your money? Find the best time in the year to buy electronics and other big purchases, and find travel deals!

The Best Time to Buy

One way to start planning for next year’s budget is to review and discuss what big purchases you need or like to make. 

Because these are outside your typical budget, you want to start saving ahead of time to keep your cash flow smooth. You can also try to time things, so you have the money ready to buy when it is on sale. 

After scouring resources like Consumer Reports, Wirecutter, NerdWallet, and more, I’ve compiled a list of the best times to buy things for the year. 

In this episode, we’ll get into:

  • Each season and month so you know when a good time to snag a deal
  • Tools that can help you get rebates or find the lowest prices
  • How to make room in your budget for those big purchases

We have a lot to cover, so let’s get started! 

Resources to Stay on Top of Your Money

If you want to chat more about creating better money habits, questions, or share your own tips, please join us at Thriving Families on Facebook.

Thank You to Our Sponsor Coastal!

Support for this podcast comes from Coastal Credit Union! Come check out Coastal today if you’re living in the Raleigh Durham area and looking to bank better.

As a credit union, Coastal serves its members first and foremost including an annual loyalty bonus.

We've been members for years and love their service and competitive rates on checking and savings accounts!

Rollover Your 401(k) Easily with Capitalize

We’re grateful for wonderful partners like Capitalize. Not only do they support the podcast, but they help make managing your money so much easier. 

Did you know that it’s estimated that there are currently over 24 million “forgotten” 401(k) accounts? In fact, the average American changes jobs every 4 years. 

And because of the Great Resignation, you or someone you know might be changing jobs even more 

It’s an extreme case of out of sight and out of mind. Is your old 401(k) in there somewhere, left behind at a job you're no longer with?

One huge benefit of an IRA is choosing how your money is invested, not your old employer. 

If you want to consolidate your old 401(k) and have more options with how you invest, it may be time to roll them over into an IRA.  

With Capitalize, they handle the process from start to finish – for FREE and yes that includes calling the 401(k) provider on your behalf. 

Find out how and get started today! 

Support the Podcast!

Thank you so much for listening to the podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and found it helpful, here are some ways to support it.

  • Spread the word! If you enjoyed this episode and think it can help a buddy get on the path to dumping debt and become financially free, please share.
  • Leave a review. Honest feedback and reviews make a big difference and gets the word out about the podcast. Leave your review on Apple or Stitcher.
  • Become a Member.

Photo Credit: cottonbro and Sam Lion

Money, Podcast

Financial Infidelity: Red Flags to Look Out For

Financial infidelity is more common than you think. Learn red flags to look out for as well as how to become more proactive with your finances!

Why You Need to Talk About Money Openly

Marriage and money aren’t typically something that people love talking about, but if you want to have a strong relationship you have to find to communicate with each other that's transparent, productive, and respectful. 

I was looking at a survey, and one had recorded 39% of adults just avoid even talking about the numbers.

Think about it for a moment. We're not even talking about hiding anything. 

We may think we’re avoiding a fight by brushing off or keeping chats about money superficial, but that’s not usually how it works.   

Finances, money, budgets – they’re necessary topics, and the more comfortable we get about it, I think that actually leads to a better relationship, a better marriage.

That’s Tracy Coenen who you also heard at the top of the episode. She’s on the show today because she’s quite familiar with how things can unravel those financial issues can snowball into something much bigger. 

Tracy has seen that happen in her work. She’s a forensic accountant and fraud investigator with Sequence Inc where she investigates embezzlement, securities fraud, divorce, white collar criminal defense, insurance fraud, and civil litigation matters.

But let’s look at that side- financial infidelity. How would you define it? 

“Financial infidelity is hiding financial information, financial transactions, from your partner in a situation where you have a reasonable grasp of knowing what they want to know,” said University of Minnesota law professor Jill Hasday. “And, keeping the information is harming them.”

A study from the Journal of Financial Therapy, found 76% of married couples involved in financial infidelity say the experience negatively impacted their relationship, and 10% got divorced over it.

One reason why it can cause such damage to your marriage is that it breaks trust, which is such a critical piece in your relationship. It’s hard to rebuild that trust. It takes time. 

I hope you never have to deal with financial infidelity, but if it happens, how would you know? 

In this episode, we’ll discuss: 

  • Causes or underlying issues behind financial infidelity and red flags to look out for
  • Ways to start working as a team to either prevent or repair the damage
  • How to financially protect yourself 

We have a lot to cover, so let’s get started! 

Resources to to Stay on Top of Your Money

If you want to chat more about creating better money habits, questions, or share your own tips, please join us at Thriving Families on Facebook.

Thank You to Our Sponsor Coastal!

Support for this podcast comes from Coastal Credit Union! Come check out Coastal today if you’re living in the Raleigh Durham area and looking to bank better.

As a credit union, Coastal serves its members first and foremost including an annual loyalty bonus.

We've been members for years and love their service and competitive rates on checking and savings accounts!

Rollover Your 401(k) Easily with Capitalize

We’re grateful for wonderful partners like Capitalize. Not only do they support the podcast, but they help make managing your money so much easier. 

Did you know that it’s estimated that there are currently over 24 million “forgotten” 401(k) accounts? In fact, the average American changes jobs every 4 years. 

And because of the Great Resignation, you or someone you know might be changing jobs even more 

It’s an extreme case of out of sight and out of mind. Is your old 401(k) in there somewhere, left behind at a job you're no longer with?

One huge benefit of an IRA is choosing how your money is invested, not your old employer. 

If you want to consolidate your old 401(k) and have more options with how you invest, it may be time to roll them over into an IRA.  

With Capitalize, they handle the process from start to finish – for FREE and yes that includes calling the 401(k) provider on your behalf. 

Find out how and get started today! 

Possible Causes of Financial Infidelity

Elle Martinez: We should address that there are a lot of reasons why people commit financial infidelity.

Definitely there are bad characters out there, but then there's also, shame. There's a lot of fear. I was looking back at the archives and some of the stories we've had with financial infidelity.

Yes there were cases where there was definitely an intent to sabotage the relationship and finances, but we had one where they were getting married and in one, couple she was a financial educator and a professional and he felt ashamed.

So he was military veteran. He was working. And so he lied about the status of his finances before they got married. Being a financial educator, she saw certain sides and that led to a confrontation. And then he admitted basically you were so much more ahead of me. I felt inadequate in a sense, but they were able to work it out.

Then I had a case where there was a couple and this happens in a lot of families. There's a go-to person with finances and it either could be based on like the income they make. It could be a cultural. Where one person does it, but it gets to the point where the other one doesn't even check in.

And so there was this imbalance here and in that case, he actually was saying yes to his family. He wanted to, you know, provide for them. He had a good job. So he thought, well, that's what I do. But long story short, it was $109,000 of credit card debt and he had to talk to his wife. He's like, this is all going to come crashing down in two weeks, you know?

Tracy Coenen: So financial infidelity, right? Doesn't have to beat the big stuff. I mean, when people think of financial in infidelity, they think about what I like to call sex drugs in rock and roll affairs, gambling, addictions. Those are all expensive things. And those are hidden for a reason, right? But it doesn't have to be that it can be the just hidden every day spending.

It can be that balance on that credit card. That's creeping up little by little by little. Maybe you always had an agreement that our credit cards will use them, but they're gonna be paid off every month. We're never gonna carry a balance unless there's an emergency. Right but then that balance starts to creep up a little by little and before, you know, You've got a $10,000 credit card balance that one person didn't know about.

And so there is a continuum of financial infidelity. So I don't like people to just think, well, oh, it's the sex drugs in rock and roll and that's not us. So we're okay.

Elle Martinez: Absolutely and I think you also bring up a good point. And I do wanna dig into this, which is this pandemic did a number on us, mentally emotional and for a lot of families, financially. Maybe we feel hopefully that things are turning around. We're getting better. We're thinking we need to pay attention to our finances more.

We need to be on the same page. So you mentioned looking at purchases and, and credit cards in particular. Could we dig into what to look out for? Say you wanna more engaged with the finances. Again, maybe you are suspecting something, but maybe you're saying we're not as far along as I thought we would be, what are some things to look out for or to check up with finances?

Financial Infidelity: What to Look Out For with Your Money

Tracy Coenen: Well, I think the first step that's important for many, many people is just getting bank statements and credit card statements and investment account statements and looking at them at all. Even if you're not looking for anything specific, just having them and looking at them is a great first step because so many people don't even look at them.

Right? You trust your spouse, you have a division of duties in the family and that's perfectly normal. Most families do that where one spouse is primarily responsible for the money, because it makes sense division of duties. But if you're not in that position, I always say every month, I want you to log in online or ask your spouse for that bank statement and look at it.

Just look it over and see because. You are going to know your family and you're gonna scan down that list of spending and you're gonna say, wait a second. What's that for? And you're gonna start asking some questions naturally. Okay. So first step is getting some statements and then second step.

If you're ready to kind of dig into them a little bit and look for, I say, look for unusual things. So look at how often someone's going to the ATM. Look for changes in patterns. We never went to the ATM before, but now I see my spouse going to the ATM twice a week, every week and taking out $500 each time.

And I can't fathom what he would be spending that on. Right. Or certain restaurants or retailers that are frequented that you didn't know about.

I give an example of, you have a spouse who was never into electronics before and now you see that they're having purchases at the apple store best buy that's unusual. So look for unusual.

Why Money Talks Need to Be a Part of Your Routine

Elle Martinez: I think that is fascinating because it does bring out the importance, even if you're not the go-to person, it's always good to have a second pair of eyes to double check everything. Like you said, it could be malicious or it could be something that I've noticed is a spending addiction or a spending problem.

It's so much better to nip it in the bud because your finances are commingling. The accounts are being shared. It's a protection. Even if relationship wise, you guys are okay financially, something's going on that could down the line, tear your marriage up because you're ruining the finances intentional or not.

So I think that's a great idea to have regular check-ins. We're a fan of money dates where, If you wanna go out, have a night in, but you just relax and review the numbers together, just to get a sense of like, how are we doing and what's going on? Are there things we need to work on or upcoming expenses? Making it normal to talk about finances.

Tracy Coenen: What if you didn't know your spouse was going to Starbucks every day and spending $8 every day at Starbucks, right? I mean, that adds up and that might be something important that you could see in the statements that you guys could just address. Maybe the answer is, Hey, like that's my vice that like really gets me going in the morning.

It makes me super happy. Okay. Well that puts a little bit of a strain on our budget. Is there something else we could cut? So you could continue to do that and have your daily happiness, right? Those are easier discussions to have on the front end, before you're in financial trouble.

Elle Martinez: Absolutely. And you know what, maybe you get an idea for an anniversary gift. Okay. Apparently they love cappuccinos. I need to start saving up now for that, but I think that's part of the problem is we see there's a lot of feelings of judgment and value with money. And I don't know any couple that prioritizes exactly the same things I know for me, books and travel.

If you look at my spending, those are the things I love to spend money on my husband's more the tech guy. So I think also having those conversations, like this is important to me, and this is why it's important to me. That way it's easier to fit it in, but I know it's not always that easy. Maybe you're you're uncovering bad financial behavior either like we mentioned, compulsive spending. They don't want to go to counseling for that. They don't wanna see a therapist for that, or it could be something that down the line may lead to divorce.

Are there things someone can do to protect their finances maybe while they sort this out, or even during the process of divorce?

How to Protect Yourself (and Finances)

Tracy Coenen: You know, I always say that you should have your own reserve of money that you can always fall back on. If you think that divorce is on the horizon, it becomes especially important that you have some money of your own. That's set aside in case your spouse cuts you off. Something of this sort. I mean, those are not the fun, happy things to talk about, but that's super important.

So having your own money but also having your own credit. And so making sure that you have a credit card in your name, that your spouse's name is not on. So your spouse can't cancel the card. Can't change the credit limit. Can't take your name off of it. And I know some of the sounds like cloak and Deger not fun to talk about, but super important when we get to the point of divorce, people do sabotage one another. And so those kinds of things are super important to set yourself up in case you think that there may be a divorce coming.

Elle Martinez: Yeah, and I would recommend if you feel you're at this point where you have to protect yourself, that's a sign that maybe also you need to get some counseling, whether that's couples counseling, or even for yourself, cuz this is a very, an emotional time you wanna go in there clear headed.

You wanna have a plan and you wanna make sure, especially if you have kids that they're protected. While things get sorted out that they don't suffer, whether that's, in a financial sense or emotionally and take care of that.

I know we just scratched the surface. Tracy. How could people reach out to you? If they wanted learn more?

Tracy Coenen: I recently released the divorce money guide at divorce money guide dot. It's my way of trying to make forensic accounting more accessible to average people. Forensic accountants are expensive, and if you're getting divorced, that process is already really expensive.

And there were so many people out there who were needing help understanding their numbers, potentially looking for whether money was missing. And so the divorce money guide is an online handbook to help them with that process for a fraction of the cost of what it would cost them to have a forensic accountant on their side.

Elle Martinez: I think we should just wrap this up whether things are going well or not you can't avoid finances in your marriage, in your relationship, you really need to have these conversations.

And like Tracy said, don't make it like the money talk. That's probably the worst way to go make it part of your routine, your schedule, whether that's weekly, monthly, however you do it. But something that's consistent and something that makes money less of a burden or a worry and more, just a tool to accomplish whatever goals you have together.

Support the Podcast!

Thank you so much for listening to the podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and found it helpful, here are some ways to support it.

  • Spread the word! If you enjoyed this episode and think it can help a buddy get on the path to dumping debt and become financially free, please share.
  • Leave a review. Honest feedback and reviews make a big difference and gets the word out about the podcast. Leave your review on Apple or Stitcher.
  • Become a Member.

Photo Credits: Milada Vigerova and Karolina Grabowska

Money, Podcast

5 Major Money Mistakes That Are Sabotaging Your Progress

Today we're going over 5 major money mistakes families make and how you can pivot things to hit your financial goals faster! 

Major Money Mistakes Families Make (and How to Fix Them)

It’s funny how we perceive time and seasons. Like right now, we’re moving towards autumn, which means the year will technically wrap up in a few short months. 

However, fall is also a bit of a reset or a do-over for many. 

Maybe it’s because we’re in back-to-school season, and we see kids preparing and gearing up for classes. Or we’re excited about the upcoming breaks and trips we’ve planned to see family and friends. 

Either way, over these past 13 or so years I’ve been writing about finances, I’ve noticed that September seems to be when people get a bit of a second wind. 

Which is great and I want to be right here to cheer you on. 

I like to embrace the energy and use it, so you have a win or two with your family finances before the year finishes.  

To start off, I want to discuss some ways we sabotage ourselves when reaching our money goals. 

How we approach finances almost always fails because it’s either – let’s be honest – boring. Or, it’s so rigid you immediately want to escape because life happens as these past two and half years prove. 

Of course, there are many ways it can go wrong, but in the 13+ years I’ve been writing and covering family finances, I see some mistakes come up again and again. 

I want to go over these five major mistakes and cover habits and strategies that speed things up if you’re doing well or can help turn things around if you’re not happy with your current strategy. 

In this episode, we’ll get into: 

  • The five major money mistakes families make
  • What you should be doing instead that will make managing your money so much easier 
  • Share a few tips on how to make it a lot more fun. Seriously

So much to cover, so let’s get started! 

Resources to Manage Your Money Easier

If you want to chat more about creating better money habits, questions, or share your own tips, please join us at Thriving Families on Facebook.

Thank You to Our Sponsor Coastal!

Support for this podcast comes from Coastal Credit Union! Come check out Coastal today if you’re living in the Raleigh Durham area and looking to bank better.

As a credit union, Coastal serves its members first and foremost including an annual loyalty bonus.

We've been members for years and love their service and competitive rates on checking and savings accounts!

Rollover Your 401(k) Easily with Capitalize

We’re grateful for wonderful partners like Capitalize. Not only do they support the podcast, but they help make managing your money so much easier. 

Did you know that it’s estimated that there are currently over 24 million “forgotten” 401(k) accounts? In fact, the average American changes jobs every 4 years. 

And because of the Great Resignation, you or someone you know might be changing jobs even more 

It’s an extreme case of out of sight and out of mind. Is your old 401(k) in there somewhere, left behind at a job you're no longer with?

One huge benefit of an IRA is choosing how your money is invested, not your old employer. 

If you want to consolidate your old 401(k) and have more options with how you invest, it may be time to roll them over into an IRA.  

With Capitalize, they handle the process from start to finish – for FREE and yes that includes calling the 401(k) provider on your behalf. 

Find out how and get started today! 

#1 Not Having a Clear Plan or Reason for Your Money

If I had to rank money mistakes, either by how serious they sabotage your success or how frequently I see them, this mistake is at the top of the list in both cases, and that's not having a clear plan and reason for your money. 

This applies no matter where you are in your financial journey or what goal you're trying to pursue. 

We're talking about saving up for an emergency or vacation, investing for retirement ( whether that's traditional or early), or you're looking to pay down debt. You need to have a roadmap that you can follow and a way to stay motivated through tough times. 

Let's face it: if you are tackling something big, like paying down massive debt or investing for retirement, you're talking about a large amount of money. That it's not going to be an overnight thing. It's going to be a process. 

I want you to have a clear idea of what you need to do monthly but also have that long-term view, that big-picture plan. I want you to have the reason for why you're doing it firmly embedded in your mind because that will keep you motivated through the tough times. 

How exactly do you do that? 

Now I'll link to the episodes in the show notes that go into more detail,but two key things you need to master are creating SMART goals and then also defining and visualizing why you want to tackle this goal as a priority. 

With smart goals, you're not just taking a very vague goal, like paying down You're attaching a number I want to pay. $20,000 of debt. I want to pay $30,000 of debt. Whatever it is.  

You then come up with a timeline. You can work backward and see, ‘okay,if I want to hit this in the next year, following two years, three years, whatever it is. I need to put aside this much money to pay down.’ 

Creating a Game Plan From Your SMART Goals

When you have a concrete number, you can compare it to your current budget. Is it possible for you to achieve this? If not, what adjustments do you need to make?  

It could be that you have to optimize your budget and look for ways to lower your expenses. Or maybe you have to increase your income. Either by negotiating with your current employer, switching jobs, Or earning extra money on the side with a side hustle or a gig. 

That initial piece of getting specific with your goals can then help you craft a real plan to achieve them. 

The second component is having a visual way to remind yourself. Now for some, what they like to do is change the background on their devices, on their computers with the goal that they're achieving. 

For example, maybe you are trying to pay off all this unnecessary debt because you want to switch careers. So you could put the career that you want as a screen saver, as a reminder.

Maybe you want to have more flexibility with your schedule and time with the kids. Well, then a family photo could be a way to do it. You can also put a picture on the refrigerator. 

There are a lot of goal-based apps that you can use, Whatever method you prefer, go for it. 

The idea is that you are feeding yourself this motivation regularly to keep on the plan.  We'll get into this a little more, but when you have those check-ins also keep that in mind, not just the numbers, but the why behind your goal. 

So that's the first money mistake and how you can fix it.  

#2: Having One Person Handle ALL the Finances 

The second mistake I see with family finances is that they have one person handle it all. 

I'm not talking about someone who's the go-to person. Most families, including us, have that it where one person takes care of the logistics. 

I handle the day-to-day with the budget. I run the numbers. I love to put together a spreadsheet. And we find it's a convenient way to delegate and take care of that. It doesn't mean that my husband, Rob, doesn't have a say.

I make sure it's baked into the system that we talk about not just the goals but that he has access to the numbers. That's important in a relationship, marriage, and your finances for a few reasons. 

One, I've seen a lot of resentment from the person handling the finances. In some cases, they feel like there's a lot of pressure that they have to get it right. At the same time, they feel that the other isn't participating or maybe that the family doesn't buy into the budget that they put in. When the family breaks the budget, it frustrates the finance person and they want to give up. 

Then I've also seen the opposite where the person handling the finances is a bit controlling (and this is an entirely different episode, whether that's intentional or not). How that affects the relationship is that the other feels like they have no say, no power in their marriage. It doesn't feel like a partnership. 

In fact, some describe this feeling as being a child in the relationship. Not only is that damaging for your marriage, but practically speaking, also your finances, because you're not on the same page. 

Team Up with Your Finances

One of the things I suggest is even if you have a go-to person is to make sure that it is easy for both of you to see the numbers and have a regular way to check in so that. You both have input on the budget and on the goals. 

It's easier said than done if you haven't had these discussions before. I do have some tips in my book Jumpstart Your Marriage and Your Money where you can have these conversation starters to make it easier to talk about finances more productive and not play the blame game with each other. 

I want the two of you to feel like you have a say in the direction of both of your goals and then also with the finances. 

Mistake #3: Thinking a Particular Budget Will Solve Your Problems

let's talk about this third one, cause this is another huge mistake that families make. It's thinking that a particular budget or tool is going to solve all your financial problems.

No one budget, apps, site, or even podcasts has the corner on the best financial advice. The reason why there are so many tools and resources out there that do work. It's because we have different goals as families that we want to achieve and we also have different circumstances that we're all dealing with.

So it makes sense that what tool works for someone. I may do a great job for them. But might not be the right tool for you.

For me, I love talking about the 5 20, 30 budget. I think that's a great budget to start off with. If you knew to that system with budgeting. But then also for those that just want a high level, easy to manage way to approach their numbers. But that doesn't mean, I think it works for every family.

But that's the beauty of this. You can test things out. Same with budget tools and apps that are out there. There are some incredible ones. Some of them specifically designed for married couples, some of them designed for families, with kids, things that are very much automated and things that give you control over every single penny.

And tracking And if you've listened to this podcast or my other podcasts, couple money. You've probably heard the different approaches that families have taken. And yet. They've still achieve some of the same goals. Like for example, I've interviewed families who have retired early and for some tracking, every single penny and transaction was the way that made the most sense for them. And that's great.

And then on the other side, I've had families tell me that they don't budget. They do have a system that they handle their finances, but they don't have what some people consider a traditional budget.

While all of them have a plan and the timeline, how they handle the day to is going to be different and has been different. So I hope that makes you feel better, that if you're not happy with the tool, the problem It could be that the tool's just not the right fit for you.

Now later this month, I'm going to do a Q and a session. Or I talk about different apps and tools that are out there for managing your money. And if you want to join in and ask a question, maybe get some ideas of what could be the right fit for you based on your goals. And how you like to handle your finances.

Please make sure you're subscribed to the VIP podcast list. It's add simplify and enjoy.com/join. So that you can get an update for that. It's going to be free. I like to keep it smaller for listeners and people as part of the community. So I can give a little more attention.

As we'll discuss in that particular session, The great news for you is that there are some fantastic tools out there that are either free or low cost, and they can help you get over that finishing line.

Mistake #4: Not Automating Your Core Finances

We're hitting the home stretch. I'm getting excited and this one is an easy one to fix. This mistake that a lot of families make is they don't automate their finances. It, I feel like this is a really big opportunity. That's being missed with families. Because let's be Most of us are busy.

We ourselves have full lives that we do enjoy. We have the kids. We have work, volunteer, hobbies, things we have to do around the house. Very quickly, our weeks do get filled. I would say it's normal. Uh, To have some things kind of slipped through the cracks and yes, that includes paying bills and finances. So you would do yourself a huge favor if you spent just one evening and get your essential bills taken And also schedule any transfers to savings. Little extra debt payments, contributions for retirement and so forth.

That investment of one evening pays off in dividends. Either once a month when you're reviewing the numbers or some people do it twice a month. It takes 15 minutes tops. For me to, for example, just go through the budget, make sure the numbers are adding up. Make sure that payments were correct. And for those. Bill's that do fluctuate. I schedule the average payment.

And then it takes I'll say one minute. To adjust the number to the correct amount. For example, certain utilities. Might vary depending on the month, whether it's electricity, water, trash, whatever. And so that's an easy fix, but I'm spending. I'll just estimate on the high end and our total each month. To get things done, but realistically it's probably half an hour just to do the budget review and the bill pay review for the entire

So I feel like for an investment of a little bit of time, You get so much time bought back for yourself. To enjoy life a little bit and take care of the more important things.

Mistake #5: Not Having a Way to Track Your Progress (and Adjust) Regularly

We're at our fifth mistake. Can you guess what it is? I'll give you a second.

The fifth mistake I see families make is not having a way to regularly track your progress and adjust things. If you listened to this podcast for a bit, or you've read my book, jumpstart your marriage and your money. I talk about money dates.

And the reason I feel like money dates are important is that they're regular low key check-ins with each other that will allow you to go over the numbers. You can make adjustments if needed, but more importantly, it's also to make sure you're still aligned with each other and with the goals that you have.

Too many times, we don't acknowledge that our goals shift and change or something happens and we just can't sustain a certain momentum on a goal. For example, maybe the car breaks down. You have to reset things for a month or That's fine, but acknowledge it, talk about it and then readjust your budget.

Initially it might take a little bit to kind of get into the swing of things, but if you grab my book, I give you some icebreakers. I just want you to feel less stressed when you're talking about finances.

And then also it's a great protection. Unfortunately, I've seen where couples don't check in with each other. And the Goes off the rails. And even though it was initially a small mistake by not having that conversation, it snows vol.

It snows ball into something much bigger. And then it becomes a problem where you're more stressed And now you have to dig yourself out of this hole and completely pivot how you handle your finances.

This is great, both as a preventative measure, but then also proactively planning and adjusting for the future. It is a wonderful thing for your relationship, your marriage.

Because you're still trying to keep each other on the same page. So these open and honest conversations. I feel like should be at least monthly. Some couples do a little more frequently.

With a monthly cadence, it's easier to catch things when they're small. And then also you get to enjoy them when they become a regular part. You're not saying, okay, we're going to bring out the spreadsheets. It's more like, all right, let's just review the numbers.

What's working for us? Do we have any vacation coming up? How do we want to plan and save for that? And then it becomes the two of you working on the goals together. Instead of attacking each other with the budget.

So those are the five biggest mistakes I see families make over and But then hopefully you can see there are different strategies and solutions you can do instead.

That will make managing money so much easier, less stressful, and a little bit more fun.

Support the Podcast!

Thank you so much for listening to the podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and found it helpful, here are some ways to support it.

  • Spread the word! If you enjoyed this episode and think it can help a buddy get on the path to dumping debt and become financially free, please share.
  • Leave a review. Honest feedback and reviews make a big difference and gets the word out about the podcast. Leave your review on Apple or Stitcher.
  • Grab a copy of Jumpstart Your Marriage and Your Money. 

Photo Credit: Guy Kawasaki

Money, Podcast

Listener Mailbag: Juggling Multiple Goals, Revamping Budgets, and Family Vacation Tips

We’ve brought back the listener's mailbag. Today we’re answering your family and finance questions about saving up for multiple goals, revamping your budget, and travel planning tips!

Family and Finances: Better Budgets and More

One of my favorite parts about Simplify and Enjoy is the community.

While I'm happy to share our journey as a family: the projects that we're taking on, the goals we're trying to reach, it's always fun to get your take on things to hear your questions, stories, and celebrate your wins.

Today, we're going to wrap up this set of episodes by answering three questions from you.

First, we're going to get into how to save from multiple goals. This is a challenge for a lot of families because not only are they trying to save for retirement, maybe put aside something for their kids, college expenses. They also have to make sure there's enough money to replace the cars, take family vacations, get gifts for others and so forth. So, how do you juggle it all?

Next we'll talk about how to adjust or if needed, revamp your budget. We're halfway through the year. So I knew a lot of families are looking at things that are working and what's not.

They want to finish this year strong, so they want to redo their budget. We'll go over some tips on what you need to adjust and surprisingly, some things to avoid when working with your budget.

Finally we'll examine how to plan and budget for family vacations. I think it's something that we all need, and many of us are excited about getting back to. And at the same time, we want to stick with some of our other financial goals and keep that on target.

I'm going to share some tips that have helped us manage family vacations and still stay on budget. We got a lot to cover today. So let's get started!

Resources to Manage Your Money Easier

If you want to chat more about creating better money habits, questions, or share your own tips, please join us at Thriving Families on Facebook.

Thank You to Our Sponsor Coastal!

Support for this podcast comes from Coastal Credit Union! Come check out Coastal today if you’re living in the Raleigh Durham area and looking to bank better.

As a credit union, Coastal serves its members first and foremost including an annual loyalty bonus.

We've been members for years and love their service and competitive rates on checking and savings accounts!

Rollover Your 401(k) Easily with Capitalize

We’re grateful for wonderful partners like Capitalize. Not only do they support the podcast, but they help make managing your money so much easier. 

Did you know that it’s estimated that there are currently over 24 million “forgotten” 401(k) accounts? In fact, the average American changes jobs every 4 years. 

And because of the Great Resignation, you or someone you know might be changing jobs even more 

It’s an extreme case of out of sight and out of mind. Is your old 401(k) in there somewhere, left behind at a job you're no longer with?

One huge benefit of an IRA is choosing how your money is invested, not your old employer. 

If you want to consolidate your old 401(k) and have more options with how you invest, it may be time to roll them over into an IRA.  

With Capitalize, they handle the process from start to finish – for FREE and yes that includes calling the 401(k) provider on your behalf. 

Find out how and get started today! 

Juggling Multiple Goals

First, I want to give a shout out and say, thank you to Adam for sending this question in. Adam emailed me and we were discussing budgets and handling different goals. In particular, he was curious about how we handled our finances with saving up for retirement, car purchases, gifts, college savings, the whole deal.

I think a lot of families are dealing and honestly struggling with this, right? Because we're trying to take care of multiple things simultaneously.

Everyone handles their budget differently so I'm going to share how we handle this and why I think it works for us. Then hopefully it gives you ideas on things to try out and to discuss so you can come up with a plan that makes sense for your family.

Like many people when we first started off budgeting. We used one of those recommended tools online. Where you give your income and it gives you a very basic breakdown based on percentages. Where you cannot spend more than 25 to 30% for housing. Have 10% for giving, certain percentage for utilities, groceries, so forth and so on.

I do believe that those can be a helpful springboard for a conversation and can give you a guideline of where to start. But even within those categories, Things can vary greatly.

For example, housing is a huge expense for families much more than what's recommended. I'm not saying you shouldn't adjust it, but you may be at a point that now currently you're spending more than what is recommended.

At least having those numbers and seeing what's in front of you gives you an idea of what needs to be adjusted down the line.

For many families, I recommend start out with a simple budget. You can use one of those templates. You can use the 50, 20, 30 budget and then test drive that for a month or two. It gives you an idea of specific areas in your budget that you're doing really well in. Maybe you're spending less on groceries than you anticipated, and then areas where you looking at. Okay. We do need to get better with this expense.

By being consistent, we did make progress and we knocked out multiple goals. But we didn't do it at once. The critical thing for us was setting up priorities.

When you're weighing everything you could be doing, saving up for emergencies, family vacations, paying down debt, investing for retirement, setting aside something for the kids' college expenses. Listen. It's easy to spread yourself then so thin that if you're trying to knock them out simultaneously, You're progressing at a snail's pace. Not only are you not seeing the numbers move as fast as you want? You're giving yourself ammunition to quit.

Instead, what we did is we review our goals. Regularly. And then we break them down and there's four things that we look at.

One, the timeline of the goal. Is this something that we want to finish by the end of the year? A few years or something that's 10 years or more.

What are our current needs and concerns? For example, these past couple years, we've been a little more conservative with our financial goals than we had previously just because of the uncertainty of what was going on.

The third factor is discussing how much. For example, with buying a car, how much are we setting aside for that? With debts, we're looking at the amount and add interest rates to.

Finally, is this a reoccurring goal or is this a goal that once it's done, it's done.

When we have those discussions, we can have a clearer idea of the one or two goals we're going to give our attention to.

For example, when we were first married, we had around a little over $30,000 of debt and a little bit of savings. Our priorities at that time were to pay off the car and student loans and then make sure that we build up our financial cushion.

With once we knocked out the car loan, we then reevaluated things. We definitely wanted to focus a bit more on savings, including replacing future cars. That led us to the decision of going cash with our cars. Meaning we haven't had a car loan in over a decade.

We prefer to pay for it ourselves. So we set aside a ballpark range and initially we were looking at the 5,000. Now I say we save about $10,000 for cars.

Focusing on Nissans, Toyotas, and Hondas with good reliability records has meant that we have the money saved up well, before we need it thankfully. My advice to you when it comes to cars is make sure you're as diligent as you can with the essential maintenance.

The benefit of tackling it one goal at a time is we gain traction when we hit a goal. We now have more momentum to work on the next, and it might seem like it's slower because we're only doing one or two goals at a time. But looking back, it really does go fast.

You probably know why, if you're familiar with Dave Ramsey and his baby steps. When you direct your money to fewer goals, it speeds the process up. It also serves as motivation to keep moving forward, which to me is a double win.

Finally, I would say the other key factor is once we had a budget in place, we would then automate it to make things go smoother.

I hope that helps you with figuring out one what goals you want to tackle first. But then to having a system that helps you follow through without stressing you out.

Revamping Your Budget Mid-Year

With this year being just over the halfway mark, the second question makes total sense. How do we revamp our budget?

To a degree, our budgets reflect what's going on with our day to day. A lot of families right now are seeing certain areas of their budget increase with inflation. They're trying to keep things under control and they're trying to juggle things well, if I'm paying more for groceries or if I'm living in an area where rent is jumping. Hi, how can I adjust my budget so that I'm still making progress on my goals? How do I keep that momentum going?

One of the best ways that you can pivot and update freshen up your finances, whatever you want to call it. Is by creating a roadmap for your money. Yes. That definitely includes having some kind of budget in place. Like we discussed with the first question. But more importantly, it's looking at the big picture.

Before we assess and adjust the numbers, we do need to go back to talk about those goals. When you have multiple goals going on. It is especially important to learn, to prioritize them and make an adjustment if the circumstances have changed enough.

Let's talk about a goal that I think a lot of families are worried about. They had been planning on buying a house. But depending on the area you live in, the market might be a sellers market right now. Prices might be jumping for even a fixer-upper. And then on top of that, you have higher interest rates.

What should you do? Well, there are a few questions that you need to sit down and really figure out before, you know what your next move is.

You may decide that now is not a good time to buy a house. You ran the numbers and if you purchase a house now, you would now be house poor and financially vulnerable. So you may decide to push out the timeline and build up your down payment and finances in a way that you would feel more comfortable buying a house, then.

Or you may decide that no, this is a priority for us. We want to get this done. You can then discuss what are some things we're willing to forgo with our smaller or less urgent goals so that we can reach this.

Depending on your circumstances, the market you're in and your finances either choice could be valid for your family. The important thing is that you're discussing this and you're weighing the pros and cons of revamping your budget towards that priority.

Finally, there's something else that you might want to consider and this might make you feel better. Chances are, if you are listening to a podcast like this, which talks about finances. You're probably doing better than you expected. In fact, you may not have to completely revamp your budget or reprioritize things.

It could simply be a matter of adjusting some of your smaller, less important expenses. And redirecting it to your bigger, more urgent goals. And that's the great thing about having a budget. It is supposed to be flexible and supposed to be reflecting on the things that matter to you.

Dealing with everything in the past couple years, all of us. I have probably had to make some significant changes. So give yourself some credit with the progress you're making.

Just focus on being consistent and having a regular time to review your numbers. For us it's around that monthly mark. It helps us stay on target. Because yes, some things do come up. But when we catch it, then it's usually a small adjustment.

Then we can focus on relaxing and enjoying the time we have together. So I hope these tips help take the stress out. If you do need to revamp your budget, it might not be as drastic as you imagine it. Or if you do have something that you're trying to knock out this year, a priority that's important to you. You know how you can discuss work on it as a team and knock it out.

Family Vacation Planning Tips

Alright; our last question is fun. It's about how we plan for vacations. We actually just got back from our summer trip. We went outside of Asheville, spent a week out there at an incredible Airbnb. We could just see the mountains from it had a beautiful large deck.

It was a great time to just decompress and explore the parks around there with the kids. We find getaways necessary, not just during the summer, but throughout the year.

There are a few things we do to make that happen and still stick with our budget. First off, here in Raleigh, they offer traditional and year round schooling. Our kids are in the year round program. They're in school for about like nine weeks and then they get three weeks off.

Over here, they call them track outs each season. For our girls there in October, the big one is in the winter with five weeks off in December and January, a couple of weeks off in April, and then in July.

What I love about that is it gives us some off season time to travel and that itself can save us some significant amount of money.

Our big family vacation tends to be around October. That's in between the summer crowds and the families going out for holiday trips leader in the year, we can usually get a great deal. So time of year is definitely a big factor.

Then also the types of vacations or trips we take do matter and help us to stay on budget. We try to use that schedule and take a trip every season, but it's not always a long trip. Sometimes we do what we called the small getaways . Being in North Carolina, we feel really grateful because we can do road trips. That include going down to the beach. Or we can go to Asheville and get that mountain experience.

We really enjoy. Both of those vibes. What we found is by timing those trips and how long we go. We can get a lot more vacation time. Without really seeing a jump in our budget. If we want to go, for example, to the beach in the summer, we're going to go but we're going to do it maybe for an overnight or a short stay.

It's going to be during the week. That is great because it's a little less crowded and we can usually find a deal on Airbnb. If we're going to go for longer getaways at a certain point, like five to seven days. I would go for the week because some hosts offer a discount for renting it out for a week.

That's also something to consider when you're planning out your vacation. If you remember, I did an interview with Justin who right now is in the middle of Europe.

One of the tips he offered was looking for those longer stays. In his case it was the same price to stay four weeks in The Bahamas then, just two weeks because of that longer stay discount.

Look for those opportunities. Don't automatically assume that if you stay longer, it's going to cost much more. You might find an opportunity where it's a huge win-win for your family.

With remote work, being a possibility for some, this can open up opportunities to take vacations off season. I'm really happy that we ended this round of episodes with tips on vacations. If you have any more questions, please reach out to me. And also I will put some of my favorite travel resources in the show notes.

I hope you have a great summer break!

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Photos by Torsten Dettlaff and Suzy Hazelwood