I have a crazy idea and I wanted to see all of you that have described not being on the same financial page - whether you would use a service like this .

It seems that when the Husband and Wife are not on the same page , there is not a "common vision" of what to pay every month - how much onto credit cards, how much into that Roth , how much on "toys".

What if a detailed spending plan could be devised by a consultant sitting down with both of you , there be a sharing of all the accounts . This detailed spending plan would identify by month exactly what amounts would be spent where - which credit cards, which asset accounts - IRA , 401 K , Emergency Fund , Reserve Account . This spending plan would have an overall plan for the year aspect where all of the accounts have a plan , and a place where actuals could be entered , so one would know how one is deviating from the plan and it would also include a spending plan for each month of the year .

Is that something you would spend $1,000 for a consultant to help you with ?

Please advise.

Marcopolo

I wouldn't do it because I don't have an extra $1k to spend on something like that, but for people who already waste money, I'm sure they would be willing to spend it. It sounds like a good idea for two people who are absolutely clueless. How long is your consultation session? An hour? 3 hours? Are there checkup periods where they can call you if they get off track? A little more detail would be good if you're seriously thinking about this idea.

Marco,

I see what you are getting at but I doubt many people would spend $1000 on it. Even if a couple spent $100000 a year, that would be 1% of the spending which is a lot. And people with high spending usually have high incomes and that often comes along with financial acumen that means they don't need such a service

Personally, if you are considering starting a business doing this I think you'd need to find a way to make it work at about $250. That would be affordable to lower income people with less financial abilities and would be a trivial expense for higher income people so that they might use the service as a convenience.

Just my thoughts.

I think financial consultants charge 100-250 an hour for their services, the 1K charge seems kind of random. I would only pay that if I was say also getting a will or other legal documentation out of the way (such as what an attorney could provide).
I would charge either an hourly fee, or a lower set rate (say $200 for 2 hour consultation, or $X for a set of X visits). I'm not sure how you would advertise this. Obviously if a spouse feels they are going to be ambushed at a financial meeting, why would they go? Even if you give them the most perfect advice, what is the motivation for the unwilling partner? That's why many partners who are having financial differences, end up going to a counselor or therapist. It's not just about money.

Regarding my husband and I, the biggest things that have helped us, is talk about goals and priorities (our children), and how that relates to what we want to do or what we are doing with our money. Since he's hands off about financial matters, a couple times I've had him review or track spending for a month.