Background
When I was younger I felt status reports at work were the biggest waste of my time. I railed against simply telling people what I was doing in a report. Were they not smart enough to see all my good work? I was often quite sarcastic in my reports. This sarcasm probably didn’t help me impress people who have read those reports, like my boss or co-workers.
Over time, I realized that my co-workers and boss often didn’t know what I did. They were too busy with their tasks. They relied on my status reports to determine if the project was succeeding. This “revelation” was not an overnight thing for me. It took a few years. As with most things, I have made the same mistakes a few times. What finally made me realize the importance of status reports was:
- Inevitably, others would ask me about something I had worked on and achieved. I would then point that person at my status report. They could see what had happened and stop bothering me.
- I started reading other people’s status reports. I chose the ones of the people who I thought were worth reading. I started seeing how much they were doing as well.
- I read my reports. I figured out that I was actually doing a lot of work. A lot of times I thought I was wasting my time.
- I got a good HR review. I thought I hadn’t done much that year. They knew everything I did because of my status reports.
What does all this mean? Information needs to be communicated to a large number of people in a concise report. Alternatively, it should be shared with one person in a readable report.
What does this have to do with Personal Finances
A while ago I read from another blogger about how they did a regular Personal Finance status report for their spouse so that:
- Your spouse would know all about their current financial standing. This knowledge is fundamental. This is especially true if you have a spouse who attempts to eschew such “mundane topics” as your personal finances. It is a lot harder to ignore something written and handed to you.
- The person writing the Personal Finance Status Report must gather all the pertinent data. This includes information about the couple’s or family’s personal finances. They must also figure out what is going on. This is incredibly important for those of us who procrastinate about such topics as well.
Over the next few days, I will outline my quarterly financial status report. I give this report to my wife. We actually review it together. I think it has helped us get closer to a situation where we both know what is going on with our Personal Finances.
I am not claiming this is something original to me, simply putting forward an idea for folks to try out themselves and see how it might go.
Tomorrow
- Wednesday, how and what do I put in this Status Report?
In many ways maintaining personal finances is just like maintaining a good relationship, trust and clear communication are necessary.
Status reports are indeed a waste of time – unless they are read. Your narrative shows that pretty clearly. So you need buy-in from your spouse, which is not always easy (especially if buying things is more about “emotions” than about the stuff being bought)
Good article!
It’s important to regularly review your finances, and for both to be a part of the planning process. When reviewing your financial status, you should also review your insurance coverage. Changes in life, such as buying a home, starting a family, etc. can necessitate changing your coverage. Life insurance is a must in any financial planning!