Dad Needs to be Financially Responsible Too
March 4th, 2008 . by 21st Century Dad |
| Photo: Valentin Mosichev, iStockphoto.com |
A 21st Century Dad must also be in charge of the family finances. I’m not saying it’s a man’s duty specifically, but if it does fall on you, you better be good at it. There’s a lot more on the line than your own well being.
Guys like J.D. at Get Rich Slowly, Frugal Dad and Mike over at From Mike focus on personal finance. I enjoy writing about the variety of topics that a father today is interested in.
Where Does Your Money Go?
Years ago, I did a revealing exercise. I tracked every dollar I spent, down to the penny. It wasn’t hard to do. I ended up spending less because it meant having to write it down and tabulate it later. All of a sudden, that one dollar here and there for a soda ended up becoming $40 at the end of the month.
Track your spending for a month. You’ll find there’s a lot of fat you can cut out. You may be shocked at where your money goes. The Starbucks Latte is a favorite target of personal finance gurus. It may or may not be what’s sucking you dry. When you examine your spending, you will certainly find things to cut out.
Plans and Goals
It’s called “personal finance” for a reason. Everyone’s needs are different. Based on your spending analysis and your current needs, you will need to come up with a financial strategy for your family.
- Do you need to save up to make a down payment on a new home?
- Do you need to pay off debt?
- Are you making a nice chunk of money but still living paycheck to paycheck?
Where to Go From Here
We didn’t learn much about personal finance in school. I spent many of my supposedly adult years being ignorant of money matters. My own education about money started with the exercise I described earlier and reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad
A great place to start is the blogosphere. I let my personal finance education fall off a little bit… and yes, I’m feeling the burn. I’m a little sloppy right now. These bloggers have inspired me to revisit personal finance and tighten things up.
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I found your site on technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you.
Tim Ramsey
I’m glad Frugal Dad has been an inspiration to you, because I have certainly enjoyed reading 21st Century Dad! I used to say, almost every male can be a father, but only the special ones can be a “dad.” You exemplify what it means to be a great dad - keep up the great work here are 21st Century Dad.
Thanks for the good words, Elliot! I’m glad you enjoy reading, as I do 21st Century Dad…
And I 100% agree with frugal dad. Being “Dad” is much like trying to be financially smart, it’s an ongoing effort to do what’s best as often as you can. You will fail often, but Dads keep trying.
Keep it coming, I’m certainly all ears to your story…
Mike
Thanks guys! When my friends told me that I was writing a good blog, I just thought they were being nice… Unless of course, you guys are just being nice.
@Mike - You’re absolutely right. Giving up is not an option, so you have to keep plugging away. I’m already surprised at the results I’ve gotten.