Family budget
Training 165 minutesfamily budget
You and your partner are both 36, with two kids aged 7 and 11. Together you take home $5,600, but you only talk about money when something breaks. Time to agree in advance.
Training goal: Agree on money without fights
▶ Play this trainingSituation
- Everything on one shared card, nobody has personal money
- A joint account for the family plus personal money each
- Leave it as it is
- Proportionally: 80% of each pay
- Split it evenly, $2,000 each
- The higher earner pays for everything
- Put it on the credit card and repay by December
- Skip the clubs this year
- From savings, plus a $55 monthly school line
- Confront your partner right now
- A monthly money date and a $100 rule
- Say nothing and buy yourself something for $300
- Buy them, he should not feel left out
- Give a $70 shoe budget, he saves for the rest
- Say no without explaining
What you will learn
- A joint account plus personal money for each partner
- Contribute to shared costs in proportion to income
- A monthly money date and a rule for big purchases
Your real-life step
Book 30 minutes with your partner this week: shared monthly costs, personal money for each, and a threshold for discussing purchases.
Questions and answers
How do I make a family budget?
Add up household income, essential costs, yearly kids’ expenses and goals. Agree on accounts, personal money and a regular budget meeting.
Joint or separate finances: which is better?
A common middle ground: a joint account for family costs and goals plus personal money for each. What matters is that both understand and accept it.
How should couples split bills with different incomes?
Many couples split in proportion to income. If one earns 60% of household pay, they cover 60% of shared costs.
More trainings in this module
- How to make a budget
- The 50/30/20 rule
- Expense tracking
- Envelope budgeting
- Zero-based budget
- Irregular income budget
Numbers are illustrative. A game, not financial advice.