- Is Your Spending out of Control?
- Your Consumer Debt Ratio
- Calculating Your Total Debt Ratio
- Why Have I Gotten Into Debt?
- Income and Expenses
- Figuring Out Your Paycheck
- Expenses Line by Line
- Constructing a Spending Plan
- Case Study: Jennifer–Things Gone Wrong and How to Fix Them
- Forecasting Income and Expenses by Age
- When You Have Too Much Debt
- Allowances
- Saving Money on Company Benefits
By this point, you should have gathered some information about your expenses. If you've kept an expense record, tally up weekly and monthly figures. If you haven't kept an expense record, get out your checkbook and any receipts you can find. Walk around the house to see what you've bought recently.
SUGGESTION: Try to find some old credit card bills. Keep track of your cash outflow for a few weeks to see how you are spending your money.
The more details you have, the more you know. The more you know, the better your decisions will be.
Think about expenses that don't occur regularly, like car repairs, and items that you pay only once or twice a year, like homeowner's insurance. Take a look at your checkbook to see if the amounts look right. Then put all that information into the "Cash Flow" worksheet. It is called a "'cash flow" because it shows how money flows in and out of your life.
You don't have to do a whole year; try a few months and see if a pattern develops. Your expenses are subtracted from your take-home pay to determine your cash balance. This amount may be negative. Don't worry about that yet; it just means you have some work to do.
We use the following categories for expenses. You can change them if you'd like. Think of the chart as a suggestion. We're trying to give you a feel for the kinds of categories you'll need if you're going to take a hard look at things.
These definitions will help you complete the "Cash Flow" worksheet.
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Savings/investing |
Whatever amount you are saving or investing. We've put it here first, because saving should come first. Include the amount you put into your retirement plans. |
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Federal & state taxes |
Put in the amount of state and federal taxes from your pay slip. If you think you've paid too little or too much, make an adjustment. Or use the amount from your last year's tax return, divided up into weekly amounts. Add a little if your salary's gone up, or if you have additional income. |
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Mortgage or rent |
What you pay, not including taxes and insurance. |
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Home repair/maintenance |
Any maintenance or repairs on your home. |
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Property taxes |
Real estate (and in some states personal property taxes). |
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Life/disability insurance |
Including any insurance payments deducted from your paycheck. |
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Home/renter's insurance |
Premium payments. |
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Auto insurance |
Premium payments. |
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Credit card/loan payment |
Loans other than your mortgage, including car loans and credit card payments. |
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Utilities & telephone |
Water, telephone, electricity, gas, garbage, sewer, etc. |
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Food (include eating out) |
All food. |
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Clothing |
All clothes. |
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Grooming |
Hair, beauty supplies, etc. |
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Gasoline |
Total amount paid for gas. |
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Auto repair/maintenance |
Repairs, oil changes, new tires, etc. |
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Other transportation |
Tolls, train fare, bus fare, etc. |
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Medical care |
Everything not covered by insurance, including insurance premiums deducted from your paycheck. |
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Education |
Tuition, fees housing, books, etc. |
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Child care |
All costs for babysitting and child care expenses. |
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Alimony/child support |
Amounts paid. |
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Entertainment |
Sporting events, hobbies, movies, etc. |
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Vacations |
Including plane fare. |
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Gifts/charitable contributions |
Gifts to friends and family, charitable gifts to church, etc. |
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Laundry/cleaning |
Amount spent. |
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Other |
Anything not included above. |
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Total Expenses |
Total the amounts above. |
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Income |
Put in the amount of your gross earnings from your paycheck(s), and other income, such as gifts, investment income, alimony & child support received. |
|
Cash Balance |
Subtract expenses from income. |
- ARE NOT A DEPOSIT
- ARE NOT FDIC-INSURED
- ARE NOT INSURED BY ANY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY
- ARE NOT GUARANTEED BY THE BANK
- MAY GO DOWN IN VALUE
Important information about procedures for opening a new account
To help the government fight the funding of Terrorism and money laundering activities, Federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify and record information that identifies each person who opens an account.
What this means to you: When you open an account, we will ask you for your name, address, date of birth and other information that will allow us to identify you. We may also ask to see your driver's license or other identifying documents.
Investment products are offered through Osaic Institutions, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC. Insurance products offered through Osaic Institutions, Inc.
