2001 Volunteer Leader Training Guide
Your Guide to Financial Fitness
Matching Your Money and Your Spending Month by Month

Introduction

Do your money and month match up? Or do you have too much month and not enough money? Take time to look at your monthly spending so you can have enough month for your money. Consider one way to manage your money each day. With 28 or more ideas about managing money, you might want to try one or two to help streamline your spending.

Target Audience – Adult and older youth.

Objectives

• To examine family spending day by day.
   

• To consider adopting steps to reduce expenses.
   

• To consider adopting steps to plan ahead and stay on top of expenses.

Teaching Points and Activities

Teaching Point 1:

Making ends meet requires four skills.

1. You must have money to pay your bills.
    

2. You must track your spending needs so you can feed your family, pay school expenses, come up with extras your kids say they need (or want), take care of your pets and generally meet those everyday financial demands.
    

3. You must set aside money to pay periodic or calendar expenses, such as holiday and birthday gifts, property taxes and August school expenses.
    

4. You need money earmarked for an emergency fund so you can cover your expenses without depending on a high interest credit card.

Teaching Point 2:

The worksheet, Your Guide to Financial Fitness, will help you see a big one month’s spending picture and the daily parts.

Use completed, not the blank, handout that fits the month you are teaching the lesson.

• Put a 3on the daily items you have under control.
   

• Put a 5 on the daily items that need your attention.

Discuss: Which items are the most difficult for you to do and why?

Teaching Point 3:

It is impossible to list all expenses that need attention in any particular month.

Periodic expenses, those that come in a particular month, are the hardest to pay. Experts advise you to add your periodic expenses, divide the total by 12 and set aside that amount each month to meet periodic expenses. These include holiday and birthday gifts and other expenses, property taxes and August school expenses including clothing. What other periodic expenses do you have to pay?

Discuss: How do you plan to pay periodic expenses?

Here are ideas to try to keep your income and spending in balance each month. One idea is given for each day.

• Day 1. If your employer deposits your paycheck electronically, ask your bank or credit union to deposit part of your paycheck in a savings account and the rest in your checking account. You may be less tempted to spend savings dollars, especially if you have a financial goal for how you want to use those funds. Electronic deposits are also available for Social Security, veterans and railroad retirement and most private pension checks.
   

• Day 2. Write your financial goals. You will be more likely to reach them.
   

• Day 3. Take time at planning your expenses this month.
   

• For the rest of the days of a 31 or 30-day month:

  • Days 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 16, 18, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 27 give ideas for cutting expenses. Which do you use?

  • Days 6, 7, 11, 13, 14, 17, 19, 21, 26, 28, 29, 30 and 31 (use only if a 31-day month) give steps you take to plan ahead and stay on top of expenses.
     

• For the rest of the days of a 28-day month:

  • Days 4, 5, 8, 9, 16, 18, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 27 give ideas for cutting expenses. Which do you use?

  • Days 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 26 and 28 give steps you take to plan ahead and stay on top of expenses.
     

• Blank Month: Write at least one plan for cutting expenses and one step for managing expenses using the Blank Month handout.

Handouts

Learner’s packets should include four items: a 31-day, 30-day, 28-day, and blank month.

References

PowerPay, a debt reduction program, available in every county office.

Suggestions for the Leader

1. Study lesson materials to become familiar with teaching points.
    

2. Select an appropriate month: 28, 30 or 31 days.
    

3. Give each learner a blank monthly calendar. Note the correct number of days to work with for this month or perhaps next month. Ask each learner to study the calendar and write one practice to adopt to reduce expenses. Next ask the learner to study the calendar and write in one management practice to try to smooth spending. Look in your Leader’s Guide for the items that are considered management practices.

Judith R. Urich, Ph.D., CFP, Family Resource Management Specialist

Back to 2001 Leader Training Guide