the household money organizer

Transcription

1 the household money organizer O

2 2009 by Baker Publishing Group Published by Revell a division of Baker Publishing Group P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI Printed in China All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means for example, electronic, photocopy, recording without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews. ISBN Scripture is taken from God s Word. Copyright 1995 by God s Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group. All rights reserved. Produced with the assistance of The Livingstone Corporation ( Project staff includes Betsy Schmitt, Linda Taylor, Christopher Ribaudo, Lisa Crayton, Sharla Fritz, and Kendra Smiley. Interior and cover design by Larry Taylor.

3 Contents Welcome Letter to the Family CFO 5 New Year, New Plan 6 Having a God-First Perspective on Money 12 Ways to Decrease Your Budget 16 Ways to Decrease Your Debt 20 Giving and Tithing 24 Saving It Can Be Done 28 Summer Money $ense 32 Fun Ways to Live within Your Means 36 Investments A Primer 40 Using Credit Wisely 44 Is a Home-Based Business for You? 48 Learning Contentment 52 Handling the Holidays 56 Recommended Reading 58 Helpful Websites 59 Teaching Kids and Teens about Money 61 My Notes 62 3

4 Welcome Letter to the Family CFO We want to extend a personal welcome to you, as well as congratulate you on your plans for keeping (or getting) your family finances on track and under control in the coming year. You have a daunting task. A CFO at a major corporation may work with bigger numbers, but her job is not really that much different from yours. After all, not only do you»» run the family finances»» keep the budget on track»» make sure the bills are paid on time»» keep enough money back for those unexpected expenses»» still have enough to buy the groceries you do this without the benefit of a regular paycheck for your trouble! Beyond that, you probably are keeping a household together, getting laundry done, cooking meals, and perhaps even holding down another job of your own. You really are quite amazing! And because of all that you have to do, we want to make your job that much easier with The Household Money Organizer. Each month includes a pocket where you can stow the bills as they arrive in the mail so you don t lose them. An organizer at the front of the book will help you keep track of every bill and your payments for each bill for the entire year. Each month also includes an Income and Out-go list to help you track where the money goes. Finally, each month also includes a helpful article on a financial topic along with an activity for you to do at some point during the month. All of this is designed to help you become more organized so that you have one less worry on your plate. You have enough to think about. Let us help make paying the bills a task that, if not enjoyable, is at least organized and easy. We re rooting for you! The Editors 5

5 New Year, New Plan Are you ready to get your finances under control this year? No more wondering whether a bill got paid or where the bills are or whether last month s payment was posted. This is the year to GET ORGANIZED, and The Household Money Organizer will guide you every step of the way. As you get started, we want to help you first of all make sense of your bills, your payment plan, your schedule, and your filing system. The following steps will help you. Step 1 Gather together all your bills. Whether you currently have an organized filing system or if all your bills go into a drawer, make sure you have at least one copy of every bill for every payment you make each month. Also get a pencil, a calculator, and this organizer. The goal of this preliminary section is to place in one location a list of every bill you receive each month. Step 2 In Worksheet A on page 8, make a complete list of every regular monthly bill you pay. Begin with fixed expenses (those expenses that occur every month; at this point, do not include credit card or loan payments). Here you will include things like tithes/pledges, mortgage/rent, car payment, telephone, electric, gas, water, car insurance, life insurance, homeowners insurance, and real estate taxes. Some of these bills may be paid biannually or even annually, but you still need to list them here as regular bills. Step 3 Next, on the bottom of Worksheet A, make a complete list of all the other expenses that you re trying to pay down (and pay off). Put these under other regular expenses. Here is where you will record credit cards, medical bills, school or other private loans, and other bills that are not technically fixed expenses, even though they may still be with you for awhile. Even short-term items (such as a loan from a friend) need to go here so you don t forget about repaying them. 6 Step 4 Fill in the next two columns for each bill. First, list the monthly amount for each bill. In the case of variable bills (such as water or electric), you can take a look at the previous

6 year s bills and determine an average, just so you have a working number. In the case of bills paid every six or twelve months, use your calculator and determine the monthly amount. (You should set this monthly amount into your savings account with a special tag so that, when the bill comes due, you simply pull that amount from your savings account.) In the final column, give the due date (or approximate due date) of each bill. Mainly this is to help you determine if this bill needs to be paid in the first two weeks of the month or the last two weeks of the month. Since most people are paid every two weeks, this will help you to design your budget around which bills to pay with which paycheck depending on their due dates. Then you ll never be late! Total the center column on the worksheet. This number will go on Line 2 of each monthly Income and Expenses List (see January s list on page 11) so that you know how much money you have left over for variable expenses. Step 5 Transfer the information from Worksheet A to Bill Pay Schedule and Checklist on page 9. Move the bill type into the appropriate location depending on due dates (of course, if many more due dates occur in one section than the other, you can move a bill up to a previous section and just pay it early). This becomes your master schedule for the year. Each month, as you pay each bill, you will make a check in the appropriate box. This will help you make sure you never miss a payment because you didn t receive a bill, or never mess up your checking account because you forgot to deduct the amount of an automatic draw payment from your checkbook register. You can see at a glance which bills you ve paid and which you haven t. Step 6 After you pay each bill, you will write the payment information on the bill and then file the bill back into its pocket in this book. If you pay with a check, write the check number on the bill, the amount, and when you mailed it. If you re using electronic banking, write the reference number on the bill, the amount, and the date of the scheduled payment. If you re paying through a business website (such as a credit card electronic payment), print out the record sheet of your transaction and put it in the pocket as backup. When the new bills arrive next month, make sure you received appropriate credit for the previous month s payment. There you have it. Six simple steps, some easy-to-use worksheets, and a place to keep all your bills and records! You re on your way to an organized new year! 7