State of the Smith Family Finances Address

Hey Family Brand! It’s Chris and Melissa here, and today we’re diving into a topic that we haven’t spent much time on in the podcast: family finances. If the thought of finances makes you want to tune out, stick with us—we’re sharing lessons learned from our own money journey, the missteps we’ve taken, and the shifts that have helped us build a healthier relationship with money. This is about more than numbers; it’s about stewardship, mindset, and teaching our kids how to handle money in a way that sets them up for life.

In this episode, we get personal about how we’ve navigated our finances as a family. Like many couples, we started with different upbringings around money, and for years, we didn’t even realize our mindset about money was rooted in scarcity. Early on, we spent countless hours trying to save a few dollars, without understanding the bigger picture of value creation and stewardship. A turning point came when we started reframing our language and habits around money—focusing less on “we can’t afford that” and more on “how can we create the money for what matters to us?”

We also share the importance of teaching financial principles to our kids. A recent conversation with our 17-year-old revealed a gap in how we’ve communicated what it takes to manage money and run a household. This year, we’re being more intentional about showing our kids the behind-the-scenes of family finances—everything from setting budgets to understanding the value of creating income. A simple rule we’ve implemented, “We pay for everything you want and half of what you need,” has helped our kids think twice before spending.

Another shift this year has been the introduction of clear roles in our household finances. Inspired by a couples retreat, we decided to designate Chris as the CFO (Chief Financial Officer) and Melissa as the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of our family. This has brought much-needed clarity and accountability to how we handle our responsibilities. It doesn’t mean we don’t support each other, but it has helped eliminate the overlap and inefficiencies we used to face.

Our main takeaway for you: Financial success isn’t just about saving more or spending less; it’s about creating value, building good habits, and fostering a healthy relationship with money—both for you and your kids. As you step into this year, take some time to reflect on how you can intentionally improve your family’s relationship with money.

LINKS:

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Links For This Episode:

• How To Have Complete Control Over Your Finances – https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=shared&v=V6k-sWfBBi8
• Podcast: 19. Why We Never Say “We Can’t Afford That” https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/19-why-we-never-say-we-cant-afford-that/id1536495798?i=1000514325256

Episode Minute By Minute:

• 0:00 – Why we’re talking about family finances
• 2:00 – Early lessons and scarcity mindsets around money
• 5:00 – How reframing our language changed everything
• 9:00 – Teaching kids financial responsibility and creation
• 14:00 – Our experiment with CFO and CEO family roles
• 18:00 – What we want our kids to learn about money
• 24:00 – Actionable takeaways for improving family finances