What to do on a Money Date

Quarter 1 has come to an end, can you believe it? Were we not just saying Happy New Year the other day? Time can move so fast that we often forget to have a personal check-in and before you know it, another year has passed and the things you really wanted to get a handle on are left undone. Money is one of those things.

I am sure you had some ideas of things you wanted to do to get a better handle on your money. Money dates are great opportunities for you to do that.

But Juliet, what's a money date and what do I do during the date?

Well I am glad you asked.

Here are some 5 things you can do in an hour during your money date.

Celebrate! (5 min)

Start by considering a positive question. Some favourites to get you going are:

What’s one thing you loved about the past quarter?

What positive thing have you realized about your relationship with money?

Review last quarter (5 min)

How did last month go?

What did you like/not like?

How did you allow money to work for you?

What changes would you like to make? (5 min)

What would you like to do MORE so that your money serves your values?

What would you like to do LESS of with your money because it doesn’t serve you?

What should you keep doing to maintain your financial goals progress?

Plan next quarter (10 min)

How do you want your money to serve your values over the next 180 days? The more specific you are the better.

What can you do NOW to help make these plans happen? (e.g., schedule a staycation, buy movie tickets, carve out time for your #1 goal on your calendar, etc.)

What will make the next three months special? (5 min)

Are your standing orders for your savings and investments still on track?

Are there any adjustments you’d like to make to your savings?

What are you excited about?

Are there any open items or unresolved issues you need to resolve? (5 min)

For the next quarter (5 min)

What did you like about this money date?

What do you want to change about this for next time?

This can be a very quick meeting. My money dates take 60 minutes, but I wanted to show you how you can start small and easy

Don’t forget to start with the positive WINS! It is easy to jump right into numbers without setting any context. Don't start with problems because you will very easily close the session as soon as you start.

PS: Money dates can be hard if you don’t know what you are attempting to do with your money in the first place. I can help you with that. I help clients create clear financial goals and create financial systems that make money management less anxiety-inducing and frustrating.