Soooo, lets talk finances. Budgets. Goal setting. Are you getting squeamish yet? Because when I mention those things around our house it gets suspiciously silent <crickets>. Check out time, y'all.
Jeremy and I are night and day. Donuts and milk (not sure why I just used that analogy, but it's really early and I'm hungry. Go with it.). Just totally different. I am the in a hurry, plan it, put it in action, do it girl. He is the calm, unhurried, spur of the moment dude. So, we just think differently inherently. Not even close to being on the same page. Lately (read- the last year) I've really wanted more of his input in our finances. I make the monthly budget (I currently use Excel and budget 6 months - 1 year out, loosely following the Dave Ramsey system), and pay the monthly bills. Jeremy is exactly my opposite- he doesn't have a clue what our passwords are and can't tell you what is in our accounts at any certain time.
So of course things can get really tense (let's have real talk, mmkay?) and it has been my goal to get him more involved in this area of our life, assist me and have real input into our future (retirement, savings, and so on..).This week I made the resolution to bring up our budget again, and see if I could get the conversation started. I brought it up in the car (so he couldn't escape, of course- just kidding. Kindof.) and had a real moment where I just had to tell myself to STOP TALKING and listen to my Husband. I struggle with that.
I listened, and of all things, he actually told me that my spreadsheets just don't mean anything to him. He's not a spreadsheet kindof guy. He gets distracted, the numbers are just there- not his strong point and not the way he's wired.
Okay. Pause.
Not gonna lie. He's said this before but I've powered through (rolled right over him) and just wanted him to do this MY WAY. Right? Just read and follow my spreadsheets. Everything will be fine. But, no. Not so much. Because he isn't me. He doesn't think like me, and honestly for the first time I just thought about what he was saying, and while discussing it he mentioned that he does really well with graphs, charts and in jest- even those thermometers that people use for goal setting. He is very visual when it comes to this type of thing.
It was kind of a break-through moment because I stopped being hard-headed and having to do this MY WAY and actually listened to him. And, he was brave enough to really open up about it all. So, y'all. Yesterday evening I made something. And I came up with an idea.
A family vision wall. Complete with savings thermometers. Our family vision. Our goals. Our dreams. In plain sight every single day, and our progress clearly visible.
Jeremy was ELATED, y'all. And honestly- I am too!! We want to pay off our vehicles so we don't have any monthly payments going into the transportation category, and we just have some other dreams and promises from God that we need to believe in.
(Side note- my sweet friend Ashley inspired me without realizing it. She and her Husband, Chuck, created a neat Vision Wall for their family and I loved the idea. Check hers out here.)
So yeah. I'm pretty pumped. I have a couple of ideas that I'm tossing around. I'll share the wall once it's complete and let you know how it's going, and if we're staying motivated by this, etc..
And- here's the file I used if you want to create one of these yourself!
-------
Do you have a place in your home that you celebrate your goals + family vision? Or, how do you do this with your spouse? Would love to discuss and hear how other couples work this out as a team!
Have a super Thursday, friends!
This is so inspiring! Thank you!
ReplyDelete