- Hey guys, this week's video is brought to you
by my friends at Mama Bear Legal Forms.
Okay, I want to talk to you guys
about the importance of having a budget date night.
Yes, we talk about budgeting a lot on here.
But it's really important, obviously budgeting is
because you're being intentional
with where your money's going.
You're not just letting your money control you.
You are controlling it.
You have a plan, you have a purpose
for where your income is going
because if that doesn't happen,
then you're like, where'd all my money go?
It happens all the time, okay?
So be purposeful.
Now if you are married, doing a budget together
when you're married is so crucial.
So many couples, they run on like two
separate pages with their money.
It's like his money, her money.
No, combine it and agree on where your money's going.
So I really want you to have a budget date night.
I know it kind of sounds like Rachel, it's a little cheesy,
little corny, but listen.
Working together as a couple when it comes to your money,
it's gonna eliminate money fights, money problems.
It's gonna help you guys have a stronger marriage.
And your marriage, you are a team together.
You need to work together in every area of your life,
including your money.
So this is really gonna help you springboard into the month.
And remember also, you can make it fun.
Budget date nights do not have to sound like,
oh, we gotta get out the spreadsheet
and just look at each other and talk
about how we want this and that.
No, it's exciting because money is a tool.
Money is a tool to help you guys
do what you want to do in life,
what you're passionate about.
Everything from giving to saving to trips
to funding something over here or there.
Like whatever it is, that is what money is there to do.
It is a tool.
So you guys working together as a couple is key.
So there's really five main things to do
on your budget date night.
Number one, pick a place.
So you can talk about it at a restaurant.
If that makes you feel a little sketchy,
you don't want the waiter to know how much you make,
I get that, do it at home.
Find a place in the house where you're like okay,
this is where we do the budget.
Maybe you do it after the kids go down.
Trust me, that's the way to do it, that's the way to do it.
Winston and I, why do we always try to have
like important conversations as we're like fixing dinner
and feeding kids and one's screaming,
and we're like what, what did you say?
So if you have little kids around,
just a little note to self.
Put them down, maybe get a glass of wine,
maybe have a little charcuterie board.
Like I don't care, make it fun, do what you want.
Now Winston and I, we've been doing this for like,
we've been married for 10 years,
probably budgeting consistently for like nine.
And so ours are quick.
So we don't need all the stuff to make it fun
because we're very efficient people.
We're like we're just gonna get it done and move on.
And we've been doing it for years,
so ours is very quick.
But especially for you all that are starting out,
that you're not used to budgeting together,
sit down, make it a relaxed environment, make it fun.
So when you sit down to do your budget date night,
start with your dreams.
That's gonna be number two.
Talk about the future.
We can get so bogged down into the details of the budget,
which you're gonna have to do eventually.
But instead of just talking about like how much
is the electricity bill, what is this, what is this,
talk about the dreams.
Talk about hey, it would be so fun
in five years if we did this, or we always say
like okay, in two years, how old are the kids gonna be?
Or in five years, how old are they gonna be?
What are we gonna be?
What wedding anniversary's coming up?
Like we always dream ahead of like okay,
what big milestones come up that we want to celebrate,
that we want to do something fun?
What do we want to start saving for now
to make those dreams possible?
And they can be really short dreams.
Maybe it's something that you guys want to do
in the next week and it's really inexpensive
and you can put it in the budget and go.
But start with the dreaming
because I think that makes it fun.
Again, gosh, the tactical side of life is so overwhelming.
It's like you just, or it feels like for us,
it's like you just get up, you get breakfast,
you get kids fed, you get out the door, you come home,
you're trying to get out of your work clothes
and then you want to go make dinner, the kids are around.
One's still asleep and you've gotta
get him up from their nap.
I mean it's just craziness.
And then you're putting them to bed and you're exhausted.
Like it can be this groundhog day sometimes.
And so I want you to bust out of that.
Get out of that cycle, and you guys together
as a couple start to dream.
And part of dreaming is number three, creating a will.
Now you may not associate will and dreaming.
But that's what it is, like to say okay you know what,
we're gonna plan for the future,
plan not if something's gonna happen to us
but when something does, wah-wah, but that's the reality.
Let's just be honest.
And to say okay, where do I want my stuff to go?
Where do I want my money to go?
Think about maybe your favorite charity
or your favorite nonprofit.
And you think man, what kind of money could we send
to them to make a huge difference in what it is?
Maybe it's your church, maybe it's your kids
and your family, like whatever it is,
but being diligent about the future.
This is a big piece of your financial picture
that a lot of people miss.
So do not forget about this part.
Making a will is very crucial.
And again, it can be fun.
It does not have to be this like Debbie Downer thing, okay?
It can be really exciting because again,
you are being responsible
and you're thinking about the future.
And Mama Bear Legal Forms makes everything so easy.
Like you get on their website
and they just walk you exactly through it.
It is so simple, it is so fast, it's inexpensive.
Like do it.
So go to MamaBearLegalForms.com promo code Rachel
and do your will today.
Go and do it.
All right, number four when it comes
to your budget date night, start looking at the numbers.
Now you're about to get to like the nitty gritty
of like all right, the new month is coming up,
whatever month it is, and we're gonna be intentional
with where our money's gonna go.
So what you want to start to do,
budgeting we always talk about a zero base budget.
That's your income minus all of your expenses equals zero.
So every dollar coming in is assigned to a category.
So being very very specific of okay,
this is where my money's going.
This is how much we're gonna give,
how much we're gonna save, how much we're gonna spend.
And if you've never done a budget before,
go back and look at your bank transactions last month
or the month before that and kind of get this average
of like okay, here's how much we spend on cable
and electricity, rent, or your mortgage,
whatever it is, and write it all down.
Have it out in front of you.
We love EveryDollar, our budgeting app.
So you can download that, make it really easy.
But get really really tactical with those numbers.
So remember, do a zero base budget.
Your income minus all of your expenses needs to equal zero.
And again, give yourself about three months
if you've never done a budget before.
It's gonna be great.
You're gonna be in control before no time,
and you and your spouse are gonna be like
we're not fighting about money.
That's crazy.
I know, because it's all there.
You've agreed already where your money's going.
All right, last but not least,
get to know your spouse's money tendencies.
Yeah, think about how they handle money.
Are they a spender, are they a saver?
Do they like to buy and spend things on actual things
or like experiences?
Do they like really nice things
and they need just a few and they really
want the quality product, or do they want a bunch of stuff
and they can have a tons of quantity?
Get to know and understand.
I think this is huge for you, because I know
for Winston and I, like we talk about okay,
we're so different in how we want to spend money,
when we want to spend money.
But doing it together on a budget,
we get to both say hey, we both,
not that we get what we want all the time
because there's gonna be sacrifices involved for sure.
In a budget, you can't spend more than you make
so there's some boundaries and limits there.
But you get to say hey, I know you value this
so let's do that this month, or hey,
I know you enjoy doing this so let's do that.
Like you get to know each other.
And when you're using money as a tool in your life
to better your life, it makes it more fun.
So those are a few budget date night tips for you guys.
And one thing that you can do is to take my new quiz
which is called What Would You Do?
all about your spending tendencies.
It's really, really fun, so make sure to click
the link below to check that out.
All right, happy budget date night, you guys.
Go get in control, have a great marriage.
(upbeat music)