Organizing Your Finances

'OverHall' - energy | harmony | balance

I Wasn't Paying Attention: Where Does My Money Go and How Can I Get Some Back?

by: Janet L. Hall

Tracking, planning, and * overhalling * your hard earned money can help you reach any financial goals that you have, help you in getting out of debt, and help you gain back control of your money, your future, and your life.

Dawn Rivers Baker of WAHM & Mompreneur has a great series, * Financial Management 101 *
( http://www.wahm-mompreneur.com/finmanage.html ) in which she writes, * Managing cash flow is the simple matter of projecting cash receipts and needed cash outlays within a certain period of time - a week, a month, a quarter, a year - ... Good cash management consists very basically of three things: knowing when you need money, knowing where that money is going to come from and knowing where you can get money from if you fall short. With good cash management, you may find yourself with a bit of money left over when you have paid your bills. *

To assist you, in this often overlooked area of one’s life, I have found several generic cash flow/budget worksheets on the Internet, one in which you can enter your figures and it will calculate everything for you. I have listed those links at the end of this article, but please keep reading before bouncing over to them! Just remember that these worksheets are generic and it is up to you to customize them to your lifestyle and habits.

Listed below are the percentages (based on net spendable income, after tithing and taxes), according to Larry Burkett (http://www.cfcministry.org ), that you should ONLY be spending in each category of your budget:

Housing - 38%
Food - 12%
Automobile(s) - 15%
Insurance - 5%
Debts - 5%
Entertainment & Recreation - 5%
Clothing - 5%
Savings - 5%
Medical Expenses - 5%
Miscellaneous - 5%
To meet the 8% that you should allocate for school/child care, if needed, you will have to make adjustments of the above categories by an equal amount.

To have a true sense of where you're spending your money daily, keep a daily expense log for at least one month. Enter in everything that you purchase DAILY! Even that .25 cent pack of gum or mints. Get a little notebook that you keep with you and just do IT! This will allow you to see where you can cut back and/or start saving.

For instance, if you buy a newspaper everyday at .50 cents a pop, and a $1 for the Sunday paper, you've just spent $208 for a year of reading what? DO you read the whole paper or just the home or sports section?

If you read the paper at home, does it start to pile up causing more clutter and more of your time to dispose of it?

Where else can you get this SAME information? Maybe on the Internet (if you're reading this, you are probably already paying for Internet service). At the library? Can you read your co-workers? Do you also watch the television news?

How important is it for you to read the newspaper everyday and see $208 go out of YOUR pocket every year?

How much * bad * news do you really want to read and listen to everyday? Be selective! Remember how much your time is worth!

This and your other daily habits are what I want you to take a STRONG look at and see what you can * OverHall and Balance *, see what you are willing to give up, what you don't really need, or what costly habit you can change or cut back.

As Deborah Fowles, financial writer of about.com, stated in her article * Financial Planning *:

* To those of you who think you know where your money goes without keeping detailed records, I issue this challenge: keep track of every cent you spend for one month. I promise you'll be surprised and perhaps shocked by how much some of your "small" expenditures add up to. For an eye-opening illustration, try the American Express * Savings or Spending Big Calculator at
http://www6.americanexpress.com/401k/scripts/saveBig.asp Enter the cost and frequency of a habit or indulgence and how many years you expect it to continue. Click a button and see not only how much you'll spend over the specified time period, but also how much that same amount would grow to if you invested it at various rates of return. Mind-boggling! *

You might think all of this is too much work, am I right? Well let me ask you, how much work will it be or take when you are retired and have no savings, no investments, no assets, no money, no NOTHING because you didn't control your cash flow?

If you're already retired, how hard might you be struggling because you aren't paying attention to your money?

As Dr. Lair Ribeiro, author of * Success Is No ACCIDENT * wrote, * If you go on doing what you've always done, you'll go on getting what you've always got. *

STOP procrastinating! Get your priorities in line! Get focused! OverHall your cash flow so you can stop worrying about money, stop living from pay check to pay check, stop being late on your bills. Work on balancing your cash flow so you won't have problems or troubles NOW or in your later years.

TIP: The best time to work on this is when you are paying your bills.

Business Owners-The Small Business Development Center in your neighborhood will be happy to help you for FREE with your business cash flow!

Hopefully, after keeping a daily or monthly log of expenditures, you’ve begun to notice your pattern of spending habits. You should be able to see where all your money is going and not just wondering. You should now be able to look at what you can cut out or cut back on.

Why do you need to do this * OverHall *?

Several good reasons could be if you’re having troubles making ends meet, living from paycheck to paycheck, or don’t have any money in reserve for unexpected emergencies. Other reasons could be that you want to buy a home, take a vacation, buy new equipment for your business, go to college or send your children to college. Still other reasons could be that you're self-employed and you need to save or invest for your retirement.

Let’s get started by making two lists, one for your NEEDS and one for your WANTS.

What’s the difference?

Let me give you an example of how I see NEEDS vs. WANTS.

A NEED is something that you NEED to survive such as food, shelter, and clothing.

A WANT is something you desire. Something that you might already own, but you WANT another or a new one such as shoes, or a jacket, or a car. A WANT can also be something that you don’t currently have. As humans, we all have unlimited wants, therefore we must make choices. In economics this is referred to as * opportunity cost *, the highest-valued, next-best alternative that must be sacrificed to attain something or to satisfy a want. Some refer to this as a trade off.

Now you need to ask yourself how much you are willing to spend or need to spend on your needs to survive and are you spending too much? Do your clothes have to be new, with big name labels? Does your home have to be near the water with a hot tub and a swimming pool? Does your food have to be the best cut of meat or dining at fancy restaurants every night? You get the idea?

What about your WANTS? What are you willing to trade off to make your WANTS a reality?

Let’s look for a minute of a WANT of a vacation to Alaska.

You will need to take some actions and ask yourself, possibly, some hard questions, and make some hard decisions.

~~ Do you have to save for this and how will you save?

~~ What steps must you take to estimate the cost of such a vacation AND what steps will or can you take to save for the trip?

~~ How long do you want to vacation?

~~ How will you travel and what are those costs?
Planes, Trains, Automobiles? <g>
Hike, Bike, Cruise ship?

~~ Where will you stay and what are those costs?
Hotel, Motel, Inn?
B&B, Igloo, Tent?
Friend, Relative, Friend of a Friend?

~~ How will you eat and what are those costs?
Bring or buy food there?
Eat out?
Skip some meals?

~~ Do you need to purchase * special * clothes?
Where can you purchase?
How much will that cost?

~~ When do you want to vacation in Alaska? Now, next year, five years, or ten years?

Once you find the estimated answers to those questions you’ll need to look at how much you need to save and where in your daily expenses can you cut back.

TIP: Use this type of exercise for any wants you have for your life and business. You’ll discover if you can really turn your wants into reality, if they are realistic and feasible.

Top 10 Tips for * OverHalling * Your Purchases
1. Plan, plan, plan ahead
2. Don’t pay retail
3. Shop at thrift stores, consignment shops, secondhand boutiques, warehouses, or in the slightly damaged department.
4. Get in a co-op or collectively buy with others
5. Don’t shop with your emotions, use your conscience when shopping
6. Rent big ticket items when possible (for instance, if you need to fold 10,000 documents on a quarterly basis or use a saw-zall once a year)
7. Use the library
8. Barter
9. Comparison-shop for EVERYTHING!
10. Don’t buy because it’s on sale or because you have a coupon

Let’s look at some items or habits you can stop this month in order to start saving (Use your items and figures that you had logged into you daily expenditures).

$208/yr – newspaper
$72/yr – 1 movie a month at $6
$720/yr – 20 breakfast drinks a month at $4
$48/yr – 1 magazine at $4 a month

GRAND TOTAL of SAVINGS a YEAR=$1,048

In ten years that would be $10,4800

Now, think a minute, what can you do with that $1,048 extra a year or that $10,4800 in ten years?

Get a big jar; water bottle, tin can, piggy bank, or something to start throwing your MONEY into (don’t forget a container for your car).

If you pay cash for a daily newspaper, throw your paper cost DAILY into your container. If you pay monthly, write yourself a check for that cost. Start a new habit by being selective on what you NEED to read and see if you can read it on the Internet or at the library. Can you hear about it on the TV news? Better yet, try a life change and STOP reading or listening to the news and start making your own * news * to share with relatives and friends.

When you go to rent a movie, STOP, and throw that money into your container. See if the movie is at the library, if a friend has it to borrow, or wait for it to come out on regular TV.

Start making your * special drink * at home in the morning. You are now able to ENJOY your * special drink * because now you have more time because; you don’t have to drive to the * special drink * place, get out of your car, stand in a sometimes long line, wait for your order to be prepared, and guzzle down your *special drink * while sprinting off, racing off, or dashing down the street to wherever you might be headed; NOW you can relax and throw your $4, your stress, problems, and concerns into your container and REALLY ENJOY your * special drink *. (whew, didn’t mean to get off on a rant <g>).

That magazine that comes monthly, that you never have time to read, and is piling up on the table or floor; stop it from coming into your home or office and write yourself a check at renewal time! If you think you can’t live without it, see if a friend gets it and ask to borrow. See if it’s on the Internet or at the library

I’m not trying to tell you to be a penny pincher or a miser. I just want you to REALLY look at where your money is going. Stop, think, and look at how you can * OverHall * your daily expenditures so you can get some of your hard earned money back and bring a sense of financial BALANCE back into your life.

If you find you are spending money on something that TRULY brings happiness, pleasure, comfort, and BALANCE into your life, then don’t give it up. Although you might consider cutting back on that item.

Here are my Top 7 Tips Lists for * OverHalling * Seven Financial Areas of Your Life:

Top 7 Tips for * OverHalling * Your Food Purchases
1. Use a master grocery list
2. Make your morning drink at home
3. Stop snacking from vending machines
4. Carry your own snacks, celery sticks, carrots, broccoli spears, fresh fruit, pop corn
5. Pack your lunch
6. STOP eating out
7. Only use coupons for the products you normally buy

Richard Carlson, Ph.D. gave this wonderful example on how much you can save by taking your lunch to work with you in Don’t Worry, Make Money, “For example, if you stayed on the job for thirty years and substituted a $2 lunch for a $7.50 lunch at a local restaurant, the $5.50-per-day savings deposited in an investment club earning 8 percent over thirty years would amount to around $100,000.”

That’s being conservative!

Top 7 Tips for * OverHalling * Your Transportation Costs
1. Find the lowest priced gas station for your gasoline needs
2. Plan and map out your errands
3. Walk
4. Ride a bike
5. Public transportation
6. Car pool
7. Errand exchange with a neighbor, worker, friend, or relative

You can find the lowest gas prices in your neighbor, if someone has reported in, at http://www.gasprices.com

Top 7 Tips for * OverHalling * Your Reading Costs
1. Go to the library
2. Find and use a used bookstore
3. Find it on the Internet
4. Borrow from friend or relative
5. Co-op on subscriptions and book clubs
6. Listen to audio tapes that you get FREE at the library
7. Read book reviews first!

Top 7 Tips for * OverHalling * Your Auto Expenses
1. Learn to and do your own oil and filter change
2. Keep you car maintained
3. Drop collision and comprehension if your car is paid off
4. Sell your car if the payments are too much and purchase a good, reliable used car
5. Pay off your car loan with a home equity loan and now that once car payment is tax deductible!
6. Change your deductible on auto insurance to as high as you can afford; your insurance premiums will be less
7. Maintain tire pressure and drive the speed limit

Top 7 Tips for * OverHalling * Your Banking Expenses
1. Find out what fees/rates your bank is charging you
2. Find and get the lowest fees/rates
3. Check out online banking
4. Switch to a credit union
5. Reconcile your checkbook every month (toss out the bank statement afterwards…you DO NOT need to keep it)
6. Don’t bounce checks
7. Buy checks through a check company NOT your bank

Top 7 Tips for * OverHalling Your Mortgage Expenses
1. Find and GET the lowest interest rate
2. Pay your monthly payment in two week intervals
3. Switch from adjustable to an ARM
4. Drop your PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) if you have at least 20% equity in your home
5. Pay a little extra on the principle each month or whenever you have extra money (make sure you tell the mortgage company the extra is to be applied to your PRINCIPLE only)
6. Pay a little extra on the principle each month (needed to be said again!)
7. Check into changing your mortgage from a 30 year to 20 or 15 year loan

Top 7 Tips for * OverHalling Your Credit Card Expenses
1. Use only ONE major credit card per person/family (cuts down on paper, tracking expenses, and bills)
2. Get rid of high interest rate major credit and department store cards
3. Get rid of cards that require you to pay an annual fee
4. Check for additional fees, such as transaction fees, late fees, over-limit fees
5. Charge ONLY what you can pay off monthly
6. Prepay before you charge, such as vacations and holidays
7. Pay on time. Don’t put the bill in a pile, pay immediately or put with the rest of your monthly bills

Websites of interest:

~~ Basic Budget Worksheet at
http://financialplan.about.com/finance/financialplan/library/blbudget.htm

~~ Budget Worksheet
http://www.moneyminded.com/incomego/start/a7budw15.htm

~~ List of Small Business Development Centers
http://www.nttc.edu/assist/sbdc.html

~~ Cash Flow Worksheet
http://www.e-analytics.com/fpa2.htm

~~ Managing your Business Cash Flow Worksheet
http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/lifestyles/text/p06_0100.htm

~~ FREE Exl-Plan Business Shareware to prepare comprehensive financial projections, budgets, and business plans
http://www.planware.org/exldown.htm

Financial Planning Organizer Kit by HOMEFILE®
A great little handbook to assist you in organizing your finances and financial files.