Money serves a wide variety of purposes for people. If you are going to control your finances, you need to be conscious of where your money goes and what need it is feeling for you. There is an old saying that goes: “If you don’t know where you are, it’s hard to get to where you want to go.” This exercise is a good way to find out where you are in regard to money and to begin thinking about your relationship and priorities with it.

Keep track of where you spend every penny for one month (especially cash). You may need to carry a little notebook with you at all times to keep tabs. Answer the amount of money in each category and list the totals beside the category. List as many additional categories as you need. Avoid creating a miscellaneous category; be specific.

~ ATM fees
~ Auto/gas
~ Cable
~ Charity
~ Childcare
~ Cleaning supplies
~ Clothing
~ Computer/software
~ Credit card interest
~ Dental
~ Diapers
~ Eating out
~ Entertainment
~ Gifts
~ Groceries
~ Hobbies
~ Home Improvement
~ Housing
~ Insurance
~ Liquor
~ Medical
~ Savings
~ School expenses
~ Telephone
~ Tobacco
~ Toiletries
~ Transportation
~ Utilities

Now please ask yourself, along with your partner, the following questions?

As you look over the totals, what surprises you?

During this month, how much did you save?

What would you like to change?

What steps are you willing to take in order to make those changes?

If you would like assistance with tackling your money management challenges,

PLEASE CONTACT ONE OF OUR THERAPISTS TODAY.

These questions were generated by the Couples Therapy Homework Planner.