Management Tools

Tools for Meeting Your goals Budget or Spending Plan Reserve Account Tracking system Technique for checking Making sure it is balanced Emergency Fund (savings) Credit Reports

Spending Plan Budgets are a type of plan for how we use money to meet goals that we agree on Speaking of agreeing on how we spend…. lets play a game

Discussion Even though this activity was just a game, it shows what things are important to you. Does your style match other members of the family? Success depends on agreement. How can you work out the balance?

Developing a Spending Plan Let’s look at a few spending plan tool: Fact sheet: http://osufacts.okstate.edu/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-1715/T-4149web.pdf The same budget set up in Excel http://fcs.okstate.edu/money/links.htm

Reserve Account A critical component of the plan The part of the budget that is already committed to other expenses during another month Set it aside so it is out of reach Separate account Prepaid debit cards Do not check balance often because it can be tempting

Tracking As with any plan we need to see how well we are doing There are several ways to do this Check register Phone App like mint,everydollar, expensify Computer program like quicken or quickbooks Pen and paper Track for at least (3 months)

Balancing There are several areas where balancing is important to finances Tracking expenses will allow us to balance what we thought we would spend with what we really spend Tracking expenses will allow us to balance our checking account

Reconciling a Bank Account To bring into agreement Term often used in relationships For finances it means agreement between what we think we are spending and what is actually being spent

What needs to be Balanced? Individual records (check register, phone app for tracking expenses, etc.) Bank statements (online or paper)

Balanced Checking Account Barriers/Solutions Time Make it a priority Don’t know where to start Determine a beginning balance More than 1 person makes transactions on account Communication & common commitment are key Not good at math Invest in a small calculator Don’t understand how to keep register

Keep it Simple Record every transaction you make—when you make it! Checks ATM Withdrawals Debit Card Purchases Automatic Payments/EFT Electronic Funds Transfer Bank Charges/Service Fees Deposits (pay checks, interest)

Use the Information gathered through tracking to: Your fixed expenses will be the same every month (car, house, cell phone) Flexible expenses may vary every month (electric, gas, entertainment) use an average to budget Go back and evaluate your spending plan Decide if your income and expenses are in line Make changes and adjustments

Using Your Toolbox All of these tools can be used together to build toward success The spending plan and tracking will help with decisions about how money matters need to be handled There is one more tool that we will talk about later; the credit report

Questions and Comments