This document provides steps and tools for setting financial goals and creating a personal spending plan, including tracking daily spending, determining monthly income and expenses, and identifying ways to decrease expenses and increase income. The key aspects covered are setting specific financial goals, creating a budget to balance expected monthly income with expenses, understanding assets, liabilities and net worth, and using tools like spending diaries, income/expense worksheets, and payment calendars to track finances and prioritize bill payments. The overall aim is to help gain control over personal finances through financial planning.

1. Money Matters

3. Track daily spending habits

4. Prepare a personal spending plan to estimate monthly income and expenses

6. What Do You Know? Pre-Test—Goes in Binder

7. Setting Financial Goals Make them specific towhat you want within a certain time period Identify and write down your financial goals Organize your financial goals Educate yourself Evaluate your progress

8. Budget Spending and savings plan based on your expected income and expenses Must balance—Money coming in (earnings) must equal money going out (spending + savings)

10. Orderly program for spending, saving, and investing the money your earn

11. Helps you reduce anxiety

12. Gives you a sense of control over your money

14. Liabilities – amounts of money you owe others

16. Financial Plan Steps Keep track of your daily spending Determine your monthly income and expenses Find ways to decrease spending Find ways to increase income

18. Understand where your money goes by tracking your spending

20. Self-employment income

21. Public assistance

22. Child support or alimony

23. Interest and dividends

24. Social Security

26. Variable expenses often change from month to month.

27. You may have some control over how much you pay.

36. Pay your necessary household expenses first (rent, mortgage, food)

37. Think about the health and safety of your family when prioritizing bills

39. Post Test

41. The benefits of budgeting

42. How to create a financial plan to track your daily spending and monthly income and expenses