Financial Plan

Hey here is my financial plan. I built these based off of two people’s incomes (mine and my husband's) using Excel templets. Once they were printed, I arranged all of my papers in a binder, where it is protected and all together.

Here is my process:

Monthly Paycheck Budget:

-First, write in the blanks, under the “Paycheck” section, the bills you pay monthly.

-Next, calculate what you plan on spending on those bills based off of your past amounts in the bottom spaces, and calculate how much you are planning on getting paid in the top.

-Then, write in what you were actually paid, and the actual amount you were able to save away for your bills.

-It also helps to write your bill’s due date next to its name.

-Once that it done, find your difference (budget-actual) and record it. It is here that you will notice how much more money you need to bring in (if any), how much “spending” money you have (for gas and food), and how much you should pay for each bill. And remember, try to pay over the minimum payment for your credit cards and loans.

Expenses Report:

-Here is where you need to get into that annoying habit of KEEPING YOUR RECEIPTS! This is just a simple way to record you spending BUT! It also helps you monitor your activity (if paying with cards). At the end of the week, I take this form and print out my bank statement. I then compare my spending to my bank statements. If there is anything I am unaware of, I try to figure out what it is IMMEDIATELY! This is the BEST way to avoid scams… they charge your account as little as $1 sometimes!

First and Second Semester Debt:

-Here is where you record your debt for the whole year. Write down the debt that you have and you starting balance.

-Next, record all your payments for every month. (refer to your paycheck budget for due dates)

-At the end of the semester, record your end balance, or write in “PAID” if it is paid off!!! WHOO HOO! And at the end of the month, you can see your total remaining debt.

NOW! Here is where ALL these form come in handy! And this is how you get your overall picture of your finances.

Monthly Summary:

-Again, you are going to calculate your predictions of your spending. If you can predict something, don’t worry. SKIP it! But once you've done this for a few months, you will get a better idea of what to PLAN on spending.

-The rest of this sheet is like the Paycheck Budget. At the end of the month, record your spending (that will come from your expense report) in the appropriate fields.

-Record your income for the month, and how much you have made year to date.

-Calculate your differences (just like before) and see where you are overspending, under budgeting, etc.

Yearly Summary:

-Now this one will take you some getting used to. Budget (if you want) but most importantly, at the end of the year, import all your data from your monthly summaries onto this sheet. 
Not only will it help you keep an eye on your money, it could help you when answering those pesky income questions, help you determine any tax deductible transactions for your yearly taxes, and give you a more organized financial life.