Meet the Mark Budgeting Roadmap
Joint - What to Have Ready

What to have ready for your Joint Budget Roadmap intake form.

This form works best when you fill it out together, or at the very least, have both of your most recent paystubs and bill amounts handy before you start. One partner guessing at the other's numbers is the most common source of plan corrections.

For either plan

For each of you:

  • Your take-home pay (net, not gross) and how often you're paid (weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly, or monthly)

  • The date of your next paycheck

  • Any regular extra income: how much, how often, and either the day of the month it lands or the most recent

  • date you received it (up to 3 sources each)

  • Your typical grocery cost per trip and how often you shop

  • Your typical gas cost per fill-up and how often you fill up (up to 2 vehicles each)

  • Your current savings balance, how much of it (if any) you're comfortable using to cover a tight period, and

  • your own personal savings goal

  • Whether you want a fixed amount saved every period or to save whatever's left over after expenses, or ask

  • about Individual Smart Allocation ($10/partner) to have this calculated for you

Together:

  • A list of every recurring bill between the two of you: name, amount, how often it's due, and whose it is: Partner 1's, Partner 2's, or shared. Up to 50 bills total. For shared bills, always use the FULL amount. The split is applied for you.

  • How you want shared bills split by default: 50/50, proportional to income, or a custom percentage. You can override this on any individual bill later

  • How much you'd each like in your own checking account as a safety buffer (if unsure, $100 is a reasonable starting point)

If you're getting Premium

(includes the debt payoff strategy), also have ready:

  • For each debt (up to 20 total, between the two of you): the name, current balance, APR, minimum payment, and whose it is (Partner 1's, Partner 2's, or shared)

Important: Debt names need to exactly match the bill names you enter, including whose it is. For example: a shared credit card called "Capital One" in your bills should be entered the same way in your debts, not shortened to "Cap One" in one place and not the other, as well as tagged "shared."

  • Each of your payoff strategy preferences (or ask us to recommend one), and what percentage of leftover cash goes to extra debt payments

  • Whether either of you is contributing to retirement through payroll deduction, manually, or not at all, and the relevant amount if so

If you have any shared debt, also think about:

  • Whether you want to pool your extra debt-payment money together each month (Combine Forces) or keep paying down your own debts independently

  • If pooling your money together: whether your shared debt gets paid off first, your personal debts get paid off first, or a fixed amount is set aside for the shared debt each month. Also consider one payoff strategy you'll both use together for it (Avalanche, snowball, or let us choose for you)

If you and your partner have a shared savings goal:

  • Your goal amount and current balance (if any)

  • Whether you know a fixed dollar amount you want to contribute each month, or you'd rather have it calculated for you (Joint Savings Smart Allocation, $10 add-on)

If you're leaning toward Smart Allocation for your shared goal: this only works if BOTH of you already have Individual Smart Allocation turned on for your own savings, because it calculates your shared contribution from what Individual Smart Allocation is already sending to each of your personal savings, so it needs that turned on for both of you to work at all. See pricing for a cost-saving bundle.

You'll each also choose, separately, HOW your Smart-Allocated savings helps the shared goal.
You don't have to pick the same option as each other:

  • A percentage, starting right away: a set share of your own smart-allocated savings goes toward the shared goal every period, from day one, even before your own personal goal is anywhere close

  • Nothing until my own goal is met, then everything after (100% stays personal until your own savings goal is fully reached, then 100% flows to the shared goal from then on)

Worth talking through together before you fill out the form: do you want to start helping the shared goal right away, even if it means a smaller amount each period while you're both still working on your own savings? Or would you rather each of you fully reach your own savings goal first, then redirect toward the shared one after?
For example, a couple saving for a house down payment together might prefer to start chipping away at it immediately, even slowly, while a couple where one partner is still building their first emergency fund might prefer that partner finish that first. There's no wrong answer, and you can each choose differently from one another, but it's a much smoother conversation to have at your kitchen table than to work out for the first time in the middle of the form.

Not sure about something? Leave it blank or give your best estimate. Most fields aren't required, and anything unclear to me can be sorted out together after you submit.

Meet the Mark Budgeting - A plan that meets you right where you are.