The Household Chief Financial Officer

The way to prosperity is to run your household like a company

By Christopher Music

Where does the lack of control start regarding finances begin? Closer to home than you might think!

One of the biggest errors in the field of personal finance is the lack of a position within the household “company” who is ultimately responsible for the economic condition of the group. This is the Household Chief Financial Officer (HCFO).

The household as a group has agreed-upon goals and objectives related to financial matters. These goals can include raising and educating children, maintaining a home, charitable interests, creating retirement income, growing a family business, travelling, and many other worthwhile endeavors. These are goals of the group, and not of any particular individual in the group. However, for these goals to be realized, one person in the group must have the responsibility of ensuring that the economics of the household are managed to those ends.

First, let’s define “economy” (and therefore, “economics”) to clear up the confusion of what the HCFO is doing. According to Webster’s Third New World Dictionary © 2002,

Economy: 1 a) obs.: an art of managing a household.

b) archaic: the management of affairs of a group, community, or establishment with a view to insuring its maintenance and productiveness.