Pathways to Success Budgeting Part 2 (lesson 9) By Sissy Osteen, Ph.D., CFP PowerPoint by Cindy Clampet Revised 2017

Today you will learn: How to be successful with your budget plan The hardest part of budgeting is sticking to a plan Put a piece of tape around each student’s finger to illustrate sticking to a plan.

Step 4—Stick to your Plan AT this point, you have a new (revised) budget plan to try. Use pages 4-7 in your booklet to write down your expenses for the next month. Use the calendar to write down when you will make that expenditure. (pages 4-5 is the example to look at, pages 6-7 are your pages to write on) Stop spending when you have reached the budgeted amount Ask to see the learner’s expense sheets from the last lesson. Review the first 3 steps of the budget on page 2 of the booklet. Read page 3. Discuss with the student the need to keep another month’s sheet to be sure their new budget is working. Ask the learner to use page 6 to keep track of their expenses for the new budget. They will use page 7 to break expenses into areas of spending. Page 4-5 are examples to look at.

Step 5—Look at your budget again. After keeping records of your spending with a budget, look at your budget again. Is it working? Fill out page 8 in your booklet. Read and discuss page 8 (learners booklet) have the learners answer the questions. Give suggestions for budget improvement.

When to change your budget? You will change your budget when: Your income changes You take on new expenses or pay off old bills You want to save for something different Fill out page 9 in your booklet—discuss changes that may happen. Read and discuss page 9 of the learners guide. Have the learner determine changes that have to will affect his or her budget. Examples include moving, a new baby, the loss of a job, etc.

A different budget choice: Buy prepaid cards with your budgeted amount already on them. When they are used up, you can’t buy anymore from that budget area Cash and the “envelope” method is NOT recommended because there is a slight chance it could be lost, stolen, or burned and there is no way to replace the money. If you do use the envelope method, write the amount paid out and for what and the date on the outside of the envelope. Read pages 10 and 11. Help the learner devise a system of dividing money up into spending areas. The envelop method is NOT recommended. The best method would be a checking account, but many people are “unbanked” and that wouldn’t work for them. Probably the next best method would be the pre-paid card system, although pre-paid cards can also be lost or stolen. Some people may prefer to use the cash and envelope method. They just need to be sure they have a very safe place to keep the envelopes and money.

Stick to it!! Sticking to a budget is hard to do. It takes work. But it can be done! And if you are successful, you will be so proud and happy with the progress you are making! Read slide.