Page 14 - Book2E

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must be accountability, control, and commitment. Money will not manage itself. Once the commitment is made, someone must take the responsibility to get the ball rolling.
Here are the basics:
• Record everything you spend.
• Use budget forms (see page 8).
• Pay your bills all at once or at every pay period.
• Keep your check register current, and balance your checking account monthly.
• Include something you like to do in your budget as a reward.
• Don’t put off making critical decisions.
• Involve family members.
• Check your credit report annually. You can do this for free at www.annualcreditreport.com or you may want to contact FFEF for a Credit Score Review, which provides a quality report that reflects FICO scores and credit information from the three credit- reporting agencies. You will also learn how to improve your credit score and how to dispute errors.
• Ask for help.
Tracking Your Spending
Maybe you have tried establishing a budget or spending plan before, and it didn’t work. Do you know why? Perhaps you didn’t plan enough for certain expenses or perhaps you had unexpected emergencies. Maybe your paycheck was less than you had calculated. Tracking your spending will help you determine where your money is going. It is criti- cal to building a workable budget. Most people get a big surprise when they track what they actually spend each month. For instance, if you buy a $1.50 soft drink in the company cafeteria or vending machine each day, it seems like an insignificant amount and after all, you deserve it. Of course you deserve it, but are soft drinks what you really want
Establishing a Budget