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Things had gone from bad to worse and there appeared to be no let up in sight for the Bryan family. Creditors hounded them night and day and both Amy and Bruce Bryan seemed locked in a cycle of spending and then arguing about who was causing the most damage to the family budget. No matter how much they would discuss creating and then following a budget to get family finances back on track, they would always give up the plan in just a short time and then think the other was at fault because they had no success. There was no joint effort and finally in desperation they made the decision to contact a local Cincinnati family counseling agency to air their problems with each other and deal with their failure to follow a budget in order to solve their problem with debt. Their decision to take advantage of Cincinnati counseling services came on the recommendation of a highly regarded friend who had once had the same problem with debt and had been able to overcome it. After just one session they were both encouraged that there was a way out of the pit they had created and both Amy and Bruce were eager to begin the process. Their homework consisted of the following exercises they needed to work on as a couple:

Tracking all expenses: This seemed like a tedious task to both of them but the person coaching them insisted that it would make all the difference in identifying all of the ways in which money was trickling through their hands each month. Every purchase had to be recorded without regard to whether or not it was a necessary purchase or just an impulse buy. This information would be scrutinized later to determine ways to cut costs from their budget.

Family consent: Any purchase over $25.00 would have to be made only if Amy and Bruce jointly decided it was needed. This was an exercise that would ensure that husband and wife were working together in making decisions regarding purchases and would also begin the process of curbing impulse buying.

Spreadsheet of existing debts: An assignment was given that would result in a spreadsheet of money owed, to whom, how long it had been owed, how much interest was charged on it, and when it was due to be paid each month. Doing this gave them a chance to view what was needed to pay off all of their debts. The advice was to choose the debt that was the easiest to pay off and getting that accomplished right away so they could be encouraged to tackle the rest of the list.

Paying into savings first: The couple was advised that out of each monthly earnings check they should each make a contribution to their savings account. It did not matter how little the amount saved had to be because it was a given that most of their checks had to be directed toward the bills they already owed. This exercise was just to build the habit of savings and to demonstrate how even the smallest of amounts saved can be significant if practiced over a period of time regularly. Amy and Bruce were astonished at how much more in control of their finances they were and how much they enjoyed working together to get out of debt.

Connor R. Sullivan recently contacted a group of Cincinnati family counseling therapists to interview them for an articles he is planning to write. He hired a group of psychologists who run Cincinnati counseling services to provide counseling for his high school students.