Monthly Spending Plan
Begin by projecting your expenses and income for the month in the "Projected Month Total" column. Some will be fi
as rent or mortgage. Many will be variable expenses, such as groceries and electricity; gauge as best you can with t
define where you're telling yourself you want to spend your money. You can allocate your available cash to anything
expenses that exceed your income. And if you're looking to improve your financial security and fatten your net worth
dose of saving and investing each month.
At the bottom of the spending plan you'll find the "Monthly Balance." This is the built-in lie-detector. At the beginning
amount of money in your checkbook, and how much cash you have on hand. The spreadsheet will fill in the "expect
insert in the Income section of the spending plan. These three items represent the Total Money Available you have
expenses you expect. If your projected expenses exceed your total money available, you'll need to cut back on som
month, do the same exercise. The "Difference" on Line 6 at the beginning of the month should match the Difference
reasonably close, if you've hewed to your spending plan. If the two numbers are off substantially, more than about 1
income than you expected, you underspent your projections or, more likely, you overspent. Whatever the case, you
the coming month to determine where you're off track.
The four weekly columns are designed to help you stay on track. During the month, record your expenses each wee
with those variable expenses, since knowing how much you've already spent in various variable-expense categories
your spending is progressing during the month. For instance: If you've budgted $150 a month for eating out, yet at th
already hit $140, your dinner out for the week is likely to be fast food. Or, you might notice you've spent $140 alread
willing to put off until later a $100 expense for new clothes you'd budgeted for this month so that you can grab dinne
shows up in town. The point is that rather than spend blindly and hope for the best, you interact with your money rou
necessary to manage your finances effectively.
Projected
HOME Month Total Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
Rent/Mortgage
Property Taxes
Home Insurance
Telephone & Long Distance
Cell Phone
Oil/Gas
Electric
Water
Household Supplies
Furniture/Decorating
Landscaping
Services (Pest/Clean)
Home Improvement
Maintenance/Repair
TOTAL HOME $ - $ - $ - $ -
Projected
FOOD Month Total Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
Groceries
Dinner Out
Lunch (weekdays)
Lunch (weekends)
TOTAL FOOD $ - $ - $ - $ -
Projected
CLOTHING Month Total Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
Coats & Jackets
Business
Sportswear
Lingerie
Shoes/Purses
Accessories
Jewelry
Dry Cleaning
Alterations/Repairs
TOTAL CLOTHING $ - $ - $ - $ -
Projected
SELF-CARE Month Total Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
Haircut/Hair Care
Massage/Body Work
Health Club/Yoga
Manicure/Pedicure
Facial/Skin Care
Cosmetics
TOTAL SELF-CARE $ - $ - $ - $ -
Projected
HEALTH CARE Month Total Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
Insurance
Meds/Prescriptions
Doctor
Dentist
Glasses/Contacts
Therapy
Chiro/Acupuncture
Vitamins/Supplements
TOTAL HEALTH CARE $ - $ - $ - $ -
Projected
TRANSPORTATION Month Total Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
Car Payment
Insurance/Registration
Gas
Maintenance (oil/lube)
Repairs
Car Wash
Tolls
Public Transport
TOTAL TRANSPORTATION $ - $ - $ - $ -
Projected
ENTERTAINMENT Month Total Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
Tapes/CDs
Movies Out
Cable/Satelite Service
Movie Rental
Theater/Concerts
Sporting Events
Magazines/Newspapers
Books/Hobbies
Film/Photgraphy
Parties/Holidays
Babysitting Costs
TOTAL ENTERTAINMENT $ - $ - $ - $ -
Projected
DEPENDENT CARE Month Total Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
Child Care
Clothes
Allowance
Toys & Books
Health Care
Entertainment
Sports/Camps
Pet Food & Supplies
Vet Bills
Grooming
TOTAL DEPENDENT CARE $ - $ - $ - $ -
Projected
VACATION/TRAVEL Month Total Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
Airfare/Transportation
Taxis/Buses/Rail/Toll
Lodging
Meals
Excursions
Entertainment
Souvenirs
TOTAL VACATION/TRAVEL $ - $ - $ - $ -
Projected
GIFTS Month Total Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
Christmas/Hanukkah
Birthdays/Showers
Wedding/Anniversary
Cards
Charitable
Holiday gifts(mothers day,etc.)
TOTAL GIFTS $ - $ - $ - $ -
Projected
EDUCATION Month Total Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
Tuition
Books/Supplies
Fee
School Lunch
After-school care
Fundraisers
TOTAL EDUCATION $ - $ - $ - $ -
Projected
PERSONAL BUSINESS Month Total Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
Office Supplies
Copies
Postage
Bank Fees
Professional Services
Internet Service Provider
TOTAL PERSONAL BUSINESS $ - $ - $ - $ -
Projected
INSURANCE Month Total Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
Disability/Long-Term Care
Life
TOTAL INSURANCE $ - $ - $ - $ -
Projected
SAVINGS/INVESTMENT Month Total Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
Periodic Savings
Monthly Savings
Investments
TOTAL SAVINGS/INVESTMENT $ - $ - $ - $ -
Projected
DEBT REPAYMENT Month Total Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
TOTAL DEBT REPAYMENT $ - $ - $ - $ -
Projected
MISC. Month Total Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
TOTAL MISC. $ - $ - $ - $ -
TOTAL EXPENSES $ - $ - $ - $ -
Projected
INCOME Month Total Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
Earned Income
Earned Income
Earned Income
Other Income
Gifts
TOTAL INCOME $ - $ - $ - $ -
MONTHLY BALANCE
Beginning End of
of Month Month
1. Checkbook Balance (+ or -)
2. Cash on Hand (+)
3. Total Expected Income (+) $ - $ -
4. Total Money Available (1+2+3) (=) $ - $ -
5. Total Expenses (-) $ - $ -
6. Difference (4-5) (=) $ - $ -
Adapted from "The Wall Street Journal Personal Finance Workbook," by Jeff D. Opdyke.
Copyright 2006 by Dow Jones & Co. Published by Three Rivers Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House
Plan
Total" column. Some will be fixed expenses that you know, such
; gauge as best you can with those. Your projections essentially
our available cash to anything you'd like; you just can't rack up
urity and fatten your net worth, you'll be sure to include a healthy
lie-detector. At the beginning of every month, jot down the
eadsheet will fill in the "expected income" based on what you
al Money Available you have for the month to cover all the
you'll need to cut back on some expenses. At the end of the
h should match the Difference at the end of the month, or be
bstantially, more than about 10%, then either you earned more
pent. Whatever the case, you'll need to examine your plan for
cord your expenses each week. This is particularly important
s variable-expense categories will help you instantly see how
a month for eating out, yet at the end of Week 3 you see you've
tice you've spent $140 already on restaurant meals, but you're
nth so that you can grab dinner with a friend who unexpectedly
u interact with your money routinely and gain the knowledge
Actual Month (Over)/Under
Week 4 Total Budget
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Week 4 Total Budget
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Week 4 Total Budget
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Actual Month (Over)/Under
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Group, a division of Random House Inc.