Spending Plan

SPENDING PLAN (see instructions below)

FIXED EXPENSES Monthly Yearly Actual Above/Below

Rent or First Mortgage ________ ________ ________ _________

Second Trust Deed Payment ________ ________ ________ _________

Property Taxes ________ ________ ________ _________

Homeowner’s or Renter’s Insurance ________ ________ ________ _________

Homeowners’ Association Dues ________ ________ ________ _________

Home maintenance & Improvements ________ ________ ________ _________

Home heating/cooling & electricity ________ ________ ________ _________

Yard maintenance & tree trimming ________ ________ ________ _________

Telephone(s) ________ ________ ________ _________

Water (including bottled) ________ ________ ________ _________

Cable/Internet Service Provider (ISP) ________ ________ ________ _________

Trash ________ ________ ________ _________

_____________________ ________ ________ ________ _________

Car Payments ________ ________ ________ _________

Car Maintenance (tires, repairs) ________ ________ ________ _________

Gas and Oil ________ ________ ________ _________

Car Insurance ________ ________ ________ _________

Car Registration ________ ________ ________ _________

Life Insurance ________ ________ ________ _________

Disability Income Insurance ________ ________ ________ _________

Health Insurance ________ ________ ________ _________

Long Term Care Insurance ________ ________ ________ _________

Taxes - Federal (including Estimated) ________ ________ ________ _________

Taxes – State (including Estimated) ________ ________ ________ _________

Social Security & Retirement Plan ________ ________ ________ _________

_______________________ ________ ________ ________ _________

Savings Deposits (see “Setting Goals”)

Insured Savings ________ ________ ________ _________

Investments ________ ________ ________ _________

Loans (other than mortgages)

Personal ________ ________ ________ _________

Student ________ ________ ________ _________

Charge & Credit Cards ________ ________ ________ _________

Groceries, vitamins, toiletries, etc. ________ ________ ________ _________

Laundry and Dry Cleaning ________ ________ ________ _________

TOTAL FIXED EXPENSES: ________ ________ ________ _________

VARIABLE EXPENSES:

Clothing & shoes ________ ________ ________ _________

Furniture/Household ________ ________ ________ _________

Medical co-pays, Rxs, Dental ________ ________ ________ _________

Dues & Contributions ________ ________ ________ _________

Education ________ ________ ________ _________

Children’s School Needs ________ ________ ________ _________

Hobbies and Sports ________ ________ ________ _________

Entertainment ________ ________ ________ _________

Child Care & Elder Care ________ ________ ________ _________

Vacation ________ ________ ________ _________

Celebrations (holiday, anniversary) ________ ________ ________ _________

Gifts/Cards (including birthdays) ________ ________ ________ _________

Personal Care ________ ________ ________ _________

Work ________ ________ ________ _________

Subscriptions ________ ________ ________ _________

TOTAL VARIABLE EXPENSES: ________ ________ ________ _________

TOTAL FIXED EXPENSES: ________ ________ ________ _________

TOTAL MONTHLY INCOME: ________ ________ ________ _________

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING SPENDING PLAN

1. Use pencil so that you can erase and re-use this sheet (or make a photocopy).

2. Fixed and Variable Expenses: Your house payment or rent and the payment on your car loan go under Fixed. Flexible expenses, such as entertainment, go under Variable. Food you eat and prepare at home is a necessity and, even though the cost may vary, you would usually put it under Fixed Expenses. Food you eat in a restaurant goes under entertainment (Variable). If you have charge accounts, list the minimum payment required by the bank or store under Fixed. If you usually pay more than is required, great! That is a good money-management technique, but list the difference between what is required and what you usually pay under Variable. One person’s variable expense may be another’s fixed. If you have to pay for childcare in order to work, list that expense under “fixed.” The childcare you pay for while you are not working is a variable expense. If you must buy uniforms and have them cleaned for your job, list those expenses under Fixed. If you like to dress well, but are not required to for your job, list clothing under Variable. These are just examples. Each situation is different. Use this worksheet in a way that best suits your circumstances. If you have a financial partner, you may want to create a joint Spending Plan.

3. Other-than-monthly Expenses: Begin with the help of your check register, charge slips and your memory, to fill in how much you spend—or how much you think you spend--each month. Convert annual and seasonal expenses to monthly. For instance, list any annual expenses under Yearly, divide by 12, and write the average expenses under Monthly. Divide quarterly expenses by 3 & list under Monthly. These figures are your starting point. Keep in mind that there are 52 weeks in a year or 4 1/3 per month. To convert a weekly expense to a monthly expense, multiply it by 4.333 to get a monthly average.

4. Actual: Keep an information Spending Diary. Write down what you spend every day on a sheet of paper separate from this Worksheet. Note little things such as snacks away from home, parking fees, bus fare and newspapers. Before you leave the house and when you return, count the coins and cash you have with you. Do you have as much as you had when you left? If not, on what did you spend it? At the end of a month, total up what you spend on various things and list them under Actual on your worksheet.

5. Above/Below: In this column write the difference between what you actually spend and what you thought you spent each month. You can use minus and plus signs to help you keep track, or you can put brackets around a figure instead of a minus sign.

6. Total Monthly Income: List your take-home pay if you are a wage-earner. If you are self-employed, list your personal draw as income and keep your business expenses separate from your personal. You can either list your gross income and then count your taxes as expenses or list your take home and leave the taxes off. Suggestion: count only income you receive on a regular basis. Or, use an average if it varies. Then when you receive unusually large income, you can set it aside to meet your long-term goals.

7. Now You are Ready to Adjust According to Your Priorities: for instance, if you can afford to go out to lunch every work day, would you rather save that money and pay cash for a vacation? Would you like to establish an Emergency Fund? If you can build up 2-6 months income in a savings account, you will have protection in case your regular source of income is interrupted or you have a medical bill that is not completely covered by insurance. Are your monthly expenses higher than your income? If so, you may want to start reducing the Variable Expenses so that you can meet the Fixed Expenses.

8. Suggestions/Resources: Allot 5-10% of your after-tax income for savings. Once you have built up your Emergency Fund, use the extra money for your financial goals. For help in saving money and setting financial goals, send for/complete: “How to Save Money” and “Setting Goals.” For help in managing your charge account and loan payments, send for “Planning Your Purchases: When to Buy on Credit and When Not To.”

Women's Southwest FCU

PO Box 720207 ~ Dallas TX 75372

Tel. (214) 887-0700