Family Inventory of Resources for Management (FIRM)

We have money coming in from our investments (such as rental property, stocks, bonds, etc.)

Being physically tired much of the time is a problem in our family

We have to nag each other to get things done.

We do not have to plan too far ahead because many things turn out to be a matter of good or bad luck anyway.

Our family is as well adjusted as any family in this world can be.

Having only one person in the family earning money is (or would be) a problem in our family.

It seems that members of our family take each other for granted.

Sometimes we don’t have enough control over the direction our lives are taking.

Certain members of our family do all the giving, while others do all the taking.

We depend almost entirely upon financial support from welfare or other public assistance programs.

We seem to put off making decisions.

Family members understand each other completely.

Our family is under a lot of emotional stress.

Many things seem to interfere with family members being able to share concerns.

Most of the money decisions are made by only one person in the family.

There are times when family members do things that make other members unhappy.

It seems we have more illness (colds, flu, etc.) in our family than most people do.

In our family some members have many responsibilities while others do not have enough.

No one could be happier than our family when we are together.

It is upsetting to our family when things don’t turn out as planned.

We depend almost entirely on income from alimony and/or child support.

Being sad or 'down' is a problem in our family.

It is hard to get family members to cooperate with each other.

If our family has any faults, we are not aware of them.

We depend almost entirely on social security retirement (disability) income.

Many times we feel we have little influence over things that happen to us.

We have the same problems over and over - we don’t seem to learn from past mistakes.

One or more working members of our family are presently unemployed.

There are things at home we need to do that we don’t seem to get done.

We feel our family is a perfect success.

We own land or property besides our place of residence.

We seem to be so involved with work and/or school activities that we don’t spend enough time together as a family.

We own (are buying) a home (single family, condominium, town home, etc).

There are times we do not feel a great deal of love and affection for each other.

If a close relative were having financial problems we feel we could afford to help them out.

Friends seem to enjoy coming to our house for visits.

We feel we have a good retirement income program.

When we make plans we are almost certain we can make them work.

In our family we understand what help we expect from each other.

We seem to have little or no trouble paying bills on time.

Our relatives seem to take from us, but give little in return.

We would have no problem getting a loan at a bank if we wanted one.

We feel we have enough money on hand to cover small unexpected expenses (under $100).

When we face a problem, we look at the good and bad of each possible solution.

The member(s) who earn our family income have good employee benefits (such as paid insurance, stocks, car, education, etc.)

No matter what happens to us, we try to look at the bright side of things.

We feel we are able to get out to eat occasionally without hurting our budget.

We try to keep in touch with our relatives as much as possible.

It seems that we need more life insurance than we have.

In our family, it is 'okay' for members to show positive feelings about each other.

We feel we are able to make financial contributions to a good cause (needy people, church, etc.)

We seem to be happier with our lives than many families we know.

It is 'okay' for family members to express sadness, by crying, even in front of others.

When we need something that can't be postponed, we have money in savings to cover it.

We discuss our decisions with other family members before carrying them out.

Our relative(s) are willing to listen to our problems.

We worry about how we would cover a large unexpected bill (for home, auto repairs, for about $100).

We get great satisfaction when we can help one another in our family.

In our family we feel it is important to save for the future.

The working members of our family seem to be respected by their co-workers.

We have written checks knowing there was not enough money in the account to cover it.

The members of our family respect one another.

We save our extra spending money for special things.

We feel confident that if our main bread winner lost his/her job they could find another one.

Members of our family are encouraged to have their own interests and abilities.

Our relatives do and say things that make us feel appreciated.

The members of our family are known to be good citizens and neighbors.

We make an effort to help our relatives when we can.

We feel we are financially better off now than we were 5 years ago.