Managing shared expenses and payments electronically

Parents know that raising kids is a great responsibility that becomes costly very quickly.  For those raising children between two homes, keeping track of shared parenting expenses is essential towards promoting financial stability within each home.  Disputes over money are frequently cited as a source of conflict between divorced parents, so it will be important to find a way for you to easily organize and track spending on your kids.  What becomes even more important in avoiding conflict with your co-parent is accurately tracking payments made between each other.

Maintaining a detailed, shared record of payments will be an asset towards staying organized and financially stable through the time you transition into separation and later post-divorce.  As you and your co-parent work to establish ways to split costs that you must continue to share, you will also need to find an agreeable method of reimbursing each other for shared expenses.  Mailing checks or sending cash along with your child during an exchange is problematic on several levels: mail can be lost, receipt of payments may not always be confirmed in a timely manner, and you especially do not want to put your child in the middle of any potential conflict surrounding money.  It will be best to send funds between each other using an immediate and secure method, so your solution will likely be found on the web.

Online banking has become a new standard of personal money management, and transferring funds electronically is a convenient method payment in a co-parenting situation.  Find an appropriate means for making secure transfers to your co-parent that allows you to keep your banking information private from each other.  Also, keeping an accurate log of dates that payments were sent and received is crucial for your records.  It can be cumbersome to accurately log each and every detail if you are using one program to itemize expenses and another to make your payments, so seek out a tool that will allow you to do both simultaneously.  This will also make it easier for you to compile documentation of expenses and payments if you find yourself heading back to the courtroom.

Tools like those offered within OurFamilyWizard’s Expense Log provide parents with a method of not only documenting shared expenses but also the ability to make electronic payments between one another.  OurFamilyWizard’s electronic transaction system, OFWpay, can help you maintain a clear record of payments while also updating your expense register to show which items have been paid and what is still outstanding.  Parents can use OFWpay™ to transfer funds for any parenting expense including child support, un-reimbursed medical costs, and much more.  Printable reports of expenses and payments are also easily generated within a matter of a few simple clicks. Best of all, using OurFamilyWizard’s tools to conveniently manage and thoroughly document payments leaves you with less time working out calculations and more time to spend with your kids.

From school lunches to medical costs, shared parenting expenses pile up fast, so don’t fall behind in tracking your family’s finances.  Promote financial stability within both homes by finding an appropriate method of documenting expenses and making payments with your co-parent, such as those offered within the OurFamilyWizard website.  Learn more about OFWpay and other tools available through OurFamilyWizard’s Expense Log here.