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February 4,2014

Planning & Saving

Money Management Tips

1. Find time every week (lx a week) to check your account balances & expenses.

2. Complete a ledger of all expenses for 2 consecutive months. (Identify patterns of waste)Considerutilizing/investing in Microsoft EXCEL as a tool to keep track of your expenses.

3. Complete a Self-assessment. Pg. 32 in your "Better Money Management" Guide.

4. Limit credit card expenses. Limit small charges and charges on items that do not last more than

2 weeks, (ex. Groceries vs. CarTires/Bed/TV-~groceries will last 2 weeks, but you will continue

to pay interest towards the groceries for weeks/months)

5. Set a Goal of putting away $100 per month; begin with as little as $15 per month. * Should you

not purchase a coffee a day at Stripes- you could save $60 or not buying Starbucks daily could

save you $120 a month.

6. Complete a Budge Worksheet. Pg. 10 in your "Better Money Management" Guide.

7. Get rid of highinterest credit cards. Figure out your finance charges. Pg. 22 of your "BetterMoney Management" Guide.

8. Manage your Debt. Pg. 42 of your "Better Money Management" Guide.

9. Be familiar with your Checking Account. Keep youraccount in check. Choose a FDIC banktosecure your funds. Pg. 16 of your"Better Money Management" Guide.

10. Keep and maintain 1 (one) credit card. Pay in full every month.

11. Refer to the Dave Ramsey Total Money Makeover book for more money saving tips.www.daveramsey.com

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Actual Amount Per Month (write in month)| Expenses i •'!•?• g^g^^^^MAmount

FIXED EXPENSES

Rent/mortgage $ $ $ $ $ $ $

Insurance $ $ $ $ $ $ $

Automobile payments $ $ $ $ $ $ $

Loan payments $ $ $ $ $ $ $

Taxes $ $ $

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$ $

Alimony (paid) $ $ $ $

Child support (paid) $ $ $ $

Child/Elder care $ $ $ $ $ $ $

Child's allowance $ $ $ $ $ $ $

Credit card installments $ $ $ $ $ $ $

Other: $ $ $ $ $ $ $

VARIABLE EXPENSES

Groceries $ $ $ $ $ $ $

Utilities $ $ $ $ $ $ $

Transportation $ $ $ $ $ $ $

Telephone $ $

Medical or dental $ $

Clothing $ $

Personal hygiene $ $

Pet care $ $

Entertainment $ $

Other: $ $

$

$

$

$

$ $ $ .

$

$

$

$ $ $

$ $ $

$ $ $ $

$

$

$

$ $

$

$ $

$ $ $

$ $ $ $

SAVINGS

Savings account $ $ $ $ $ $ $

Credit union $ $ $ $ $ $ $

Other: $ $ $ $ $ $ $

Total expensesand savings $ $ $ $ $ $ $

Readers may copy this page for their own personal use. Pages that do not contain this notice may not be reproducedwithout written permission from Channing Bete Company, Inc. ©2006 Channing Bete Company, Inc. All rights reserved.

Income EstimatedAmount

Actual Amount Per Month (write in month)

Job#l

Job #2

Government support

Spouse orpartner's income

Alimony (received)

Child support(received)

Interest/Dividends

Other:

Total income

$.

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

Total expenses $

$.

$.

$.

$.

$.

$.

$.

$

$

$.

$.

$.

$.

$.

$

$

$

$

Compare total expenses to total income.Your budget is balanced when they match.If they don't, reassign expenses until they do.(Remember not to cut into your savings if youcan avoid it!)

Amountto reassign

$.

$.

$.

$.

$.

$

$

$

$

Readers may copy this page for their own personal use. Pages that do not contain this notice may not be reproducedwithout written permission from Channing Bete Company, inc. ©2006 Channing Bete Company, Inc. All rights reseived.

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Find the best checking account for you, and manage it well,

Know your checking patterns.This can help you comparison shop for the best checkingaccount. Review your bank statements, or estimate yourneeds if you don't have a checking account.

• How many checks do you normallywrite each month?

• How many times do you use an ATMeach month?

• How much money do you normallykeep in your account?

Know your checking account fees.Read each bank's fee disclosure statement.It tells you the fees and conditions of theaccount. Common ones include:

• a monthly fee

• a per-check fee

• ATM fees .

• a "bounced check" fee (for writing checks you don'thave enough money to cover)

• a fee for falling below a minimum balance.

Which fees are you charged each month?How much do they amount to? $

Match your patterns to a checking account.Lookfor a checking account that charges the leastfor the services you use the most. Shop around forthe best deal. Ask ifyou can get a better deal byalso opening a savings account.

Forexample, Bank A charges you a $3 monthly fee,but there's no charge for the checks you write.Bank Bhas no monthly fee but charges you $.15per check. Ifyou usually write 25 checks each month,itwould cost you $3.75 a month to have anaccount with Bank B(25 checks x $.15 = $3.75).

Read the fine print on "free" checking accounts.There may be hidden fees or restrictions.For example, you may be required to keepa minimum balance, or there may be feesfor using your ATM card.

16

Consider joining a credit union, if you can.Credit unions often offer good deals on manydifferent types of banking services.

Find out how the daily balanceis calculated.

If possible:

• Choose an account that usesthe average daily balance formula.(This computes the average balanceof all days in the statement period.)

• Avoid accounts that use a minimumdaily balance formula. If you fall belowthe minimum even one day,you could be charged fees.

Choose a bank that offers direct deposit.Thisallows your paycheck to be deposited intoyour account electronically.

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The amount of interest you owe is figured usingyour balance. But a creditor can calculate yourbalance in any one of these ways:

Adjusted balance methodThis is usually the cheapest method. It takes the balance you owefrom the last billing period and subtracts any payments you makeduring the current period. The amount left over is your balance.

Average daily balance methodThis is the most common method. It totals up each day's balance,minus any payments you make. That total is then divided by thenumber of days in the billing period to get an average.

For example:Your billing period is 30 days. For half themonth, you carry a balance each dayof $200 ($200 x 15 days = $3,000).

Then you send in a payment of $100.So for the second half of the month,your balance is only $100 each day($100 x 15 days = $1,500).

So, your average daily balance would be:

$3,000 + $1,500 = $4,500 -r 30 days = $150.

Previous balance method

This is usually the most expensive method. It usesthe balance owed from the last billing period withoutsubtracting the payments you made this period.

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The interest equals your balancemultiplied by the monthly interest rate.

For example, ifyour APR is 18%, that would mean you'llbe charged interest af a rate of:

18% -=- 12 months = 1.5% each month.

On a balance of $150, the interest chargedwould be:

$150 x.015 = $2.25.

So, your new balance, not includingany other fees, would be:

$150 + $£25 = $152.25.

22

Use the information you've put together in yourworksheets and your records to complete these sections.

After completing them, review your answers. Theycan help you see the big picture—where you stand financially and where you're going. If you're not satisfied with what you see,use the skills you've learned in this guide to make changes.

Recordkeeping

Are your recordkeeping skills helping you orslowing you down? Put a check mark by, or writethe answer for, the items that apply to you.

1. • I know how to read my pay statement.

2. a I've created automatic pay deductions to pay these people or organizations each month:

3. • I never bounce checks—I always know what my checkbook balance is.

4. • I record every ATM and debit card withdrawal and deposit in my checkbook register.

5. Mycheckbook balance is currently $ .

6. • My checkbook balance regularly matches my bank's records.

7. • Ihave a regular system for paying my bills.

8. • I regularly record the bills I've paid in my budget so Ican see if I'm on track.

9. Mysystem for filing important records works like this:

10. • My spouse understands and can handle our finances if I'm not able to.

Readers may copy this page for their own personal use. Pages that do not contain this notice may not be reproduced32 without written permission from Channing Bete Company, Inc. ©2006 Channing Bete Company, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Are you headed for debt trouble? Use this formto see how close your debt is to the 20% limit.

1. List the totals you owe each monthon credit cards, store charge cards, etc.

Card #1

Card #2

Card #3

Total:

2. List the monthly payment for every loanyou have (not including mortgage):

Auto loan $

Student loan $

$

$

Total: $

3. Total monthly debt payments: :$

4. List your monthly income (after taxes): $

5. Total monthlydebt payments

Monthly income(after taxes)

•*• $

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Debfaspercentageof income

This figure should beless than .20 (20%).

Take steps immediately to reduce your debt if ifs close to or over 20%.

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credit payments

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Total monthlydebt payments

Readers may copy this page for their own personal use. Pages that do not contain this notice may not be reproduced34 without written permission from Channing BeteCompany, Inc. ©2006 Channing Bete Company, Inc. All rights reserved.