Family: Key Questions on Money and Relationships
TT21 - Key Questions on Money in the Family
XI. Money and Relationships
Personal Financial Plan
Your Name and Date
Current Situation
Please note that talking about finances with anyone, particularly parents, can be a sensitive subject. Please use discretion and love when talking about finances, and do not be judgmental in your discussion. If they are unwilling to answer a specific question, please pass on that question to others that they may be more willing to answer. You do not have to have all questions answered by your parents to get full credit for this assignment. By answering the questions posed in each of these sections, you will successfully complete this part of your Personal Financial Plan assignment.
The following questions relate to how money and finances was handled in my family in the past and how I/we intend to handle money in the future.
Family
1. How was money generally handled in your family growing up? Who handled the checkbook? How was it handled? How should it be handled?
2. What kind of lessons regarding money did your parents try to teach you? What methods did they use to teach you? How are you planning to teach your children?
3. Did your family have a family theme, motto, or mission statement? Did part of it relate to finances? If you were to put one together, what would it be?
Cash Management/Savings
4. How was savings/cash management handled with your family? Which savings/cash management vehicles did your parents use? What savings/cash management vehicles will you use?
Education and Missions
5. How did your parents save for your education and missions? What do they wish they had done differently? How are you going to save for your children’s missions and education?
Retirement
6. How did your parents save for their retirement? What do they wish they had done differently? How are you going to save for your retirement?
Investments and Attitudes
7. What kinds of financial things cause you to lose sleep at night?
8. Regarding investments, what do the words “risky” or “conservative” mean to you? Have those words changed over time?
9. Assuming that your portfolio needs to grow at an 8-10% rate in order to meet your goals, would you be happy with that kind of return?
10. Have you ever done anything strange or excessive with your investments? What were those things? What did you learn from those experiences?
11. How have you felt when you’ve “made a killing”, i.e., the investments returned a very high return? How have you felt when you’ve “taken a bath,” i.e., lost money in an investment? What did you learn?
12. Talk with your parents or an older, trusted friend. What do they wish they would have done differently in regards to managing money and investing?
13. Regarding your current holdings, what are you most pleased about and what are your greatest concerns?
Action Plan
14. How will you handle finances in your family?
15. How will you teach your children fiscal responsibility?
16. If you choose to do so, how will you save for your children’s education and missions?
Questions were adapted from “12 Psychological Questions, “ Jason Payne, Payne Financial Management, Orem, Utah, February 8, 2005. Other questions were added as well.
Disclaimer
The purpose of this material and this class is to help you get your financial house in
order and to help you on your road to financial self-reliance. If there are mistakes in this
material, please bring them to our attention, and we will correct them in upcoming
versions. The teacher, and BYU, specifically disclaim any liability or responsibility for claims, loss, or risk incurred, directly or indirectly, by using this material.
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