SWSMstrategy – by Ben Barry
A couple say sitting down for an annual formal strategy meeting together has helped them build their $650k dream home and strengthen their relationship.
Chelsea, 29, and Evan Westfall, 27, have been planning their finances, ambitions and aims for the year in this way since 2020.
The meeting in January usually lasts around two hours and the pair will also host quarterly meetings and weekly check-ins to monitor progress.
The couple welcomed a new addition to the ‘Westfall Company’ – Liam, now seven-months-old, in July 2024.
Chelsea said that the meeting allowed them to build their dream home in their 20s and helps them understand their individual ambitions for the year ahead.
She said that the annual meetings have made their relationship stronger as they also speak about what is working for them and what they need to work on.
Chelsea, an executive assistant, from Follansbee, West Virginia, said: “When we first got together, we both really prioritised open communication.
“We function really well in communicating what each other needs.
“We started this concept five years ago when we would break things down into categories like family, ambitions, careers and finances.
“We would turn the spreadsheet into a PowerPoint and present it at our annual meeting.
“We follow up the annual meeting with quarterly meetings and weekly check-ins to see how we are doing.
“It keeps us aligned with our goals, and needs, and it is good for the marriage as it helps us constantly be able to grow.”
Evan Westfall, a software engineer, from Fallonsbee, West Virginia, added: “Our annual meetings have allowed us to keep track of the goals that we want to achieve in our marriage, our personal life, and our finances.
“I look forward to all of our meetings because it’s not only a fun way to make sure we are on the same page, but they have become a very important part of our marriage.
“What you think makes your spouse feel loved, may not actually be the case and these meetings have helped me learn her love language and hold me accountable to being the best husband I can be to her.
“Over the years this has helped us create such a strong foundation and prepared us to know how to deal with any conflict or challenge we face. “
The couple met in December 2019 and got married in April 2021.
At the beginning of their relationship, Chelsea said they had a lot of discussions about what was working in the relationship, what wasn’t, and their life ambitions.
Chelsea decided that they needed to set some time aside to discussion different and the annual meeting transformed from there.
She said: “We met right before COVID had happened, we were getting to know each other, started dating, and then got married pretty quickly after that.
“We fell in love fast but we had a lot of differences.
“At the start of the relationship, it felt like we were discussing a lot of things and I said we need to set some time aside and it grew from there.
“The first year we did it was mainly a conversation, the second year we had a document and then Evan decided we do the PowerPoint presentation.”
During their annual presentation, the couple will discuss key topics including, finances, personal goals, most challenging moments and their favourite memories from the previous year.
They will conclude the meeting with their overall goals and set side time throughout the year for a quarterly catch-up, and weekly check-ins to see how they are getting on.
Chelsea said: “At the start of the meeting we will do a recap of the year, we will discuss our favourite moments whether that be travel, food or just a memorable moment.
“Then we will move on to finances, talk about our overall budget, any type of big expenses we will need to make and then talk about our saving goals and what we want to achieve.
“As well as team goals, we will also make sure to set ourselves personal ambitions for the year too.”
Chelsea said the annual meeting has been a “tremendous asset” to the couple as it has given them the time and space to communicate with each other.
She admitted that the couple aren’t perfect by any means and they can still argue from time to time but Chelsea said they have a lot less.
“It has been a tremendous asset to both of us, I know a lot of young couples struggle in their first year of marriage.
“You are two different parties, raised two different ways with two different ways of how to do things.
“As I said, we have a tonne of similarities but we do have differences.
“This meeting allows us to recognise we are different people and have different functions but have empathy and transparency to allow us to understand each other.
“We are not perfect by any means, we still have arguments but we have a lot less.
“Whenever we do have conflict it is a conversation where we talk about how we ae getting on, what we are feeling and how to resolve it.”
Chelsea said that the annual meetings have been key in helping the couple save.
In November 2023, the couple completed building their $650k dream home and credited the annual meetings for helping them achieve that goal.
“My husband just turned 27, and I just turned 29, we were both able to buy our first property and then build our $650 dream home.
“Most people in their 20s are not able to do that.
“It has always been a dream to have a modern farmhouse as a home but I never thought I would be able to build one this young.
“The annual meetings allowed us to achieve our goals faster, we have saving goals and an understanding of where we want our money to go.”
ENDS
