Family Finances Lesson - Additional Resources

As part of his lesson, my friend had a nice hand out with some additional resources on the subject. I've reprinted the resource list with his permission.

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Recommended Resources

Additional Reading/Research

The book, “Your Money or Your Life” is considered to be a classic read on the subject. It talks about many of the principles I have mentioned in greater detail. The authors have used these principles (and several others) to become what they call “financially independent”. I highly recommend this book, but would caveat that some of their points are a little over zealously made and some of their assumptions are questionable. Still, many of the economic points are sound and good guidelines. Many of the activities they suggest are very effective.

Suzie Orman – For those with AFN, her program is broadcast on Sunday at several times during the day including 11 am Sunday on Channel 5. Susie is a well respected personal finance guru whose expertise comes from personal experience rather than academic training. I have never seen Susie make statements contrary to the core principles I have mentioned in dealing with finance and consider her opinion to be a good check on my own thinking.

The church's Provident Living website has a “family finances” section that covers the basics and provides church guidance concerning some of these topics.

Several other people have pursued similar interest in living frugally. Several of these people have blogs. One such blog is thesimpledollar.com. Another is http://elasticdollar.blogspot.com/

Tools

Recording and Tracking Expenses

Expense calendar – create a table with several columns. Each column is an expense category. Every row is either an individual expense or a time period, depending on what works best for you. In the appropriate cell in the table, record the cost amounts for the expense or the time period in question. For instance, if I were to buy $80 groceries on a particular date, I might make a row for the expenditure and put the “$80” in the column for groceries.

Expense notebook – carry in your pocket a notebook and pen. When you spend money, record the date, amount, location, category of the expense and any other information you might feel you need. At the end of the month, lay out each of these expenses into categories and see where your money is going. This is similar to the General Journal used in standard accounting practices.

Credit Cards – buy everything on your credit card (buy only what you have real money for). When you spend the money, deduct it from your funds as if it was paid on that day. Place the money aside to pay the bill. Use your credit card statement as record of expenses. Pay it off every month.

Budgets

The Envelope Method – Every pay day, withdraw in cash your budgetary items (things you wouldn't pay other ways) and place your budget amounts into envelopes labeled with the budget categories. When the money is gone, so is the budget item.

“Virtual” Accounts – create and track individual “account” balances with each account corresponding to a budget category. Every payday, deposit your budgetary amounts into each of these virtual accounts. Every month or so, verify that the total of your virtual account balances is equivalent to the total of your real bank account balances. If not, find and correct the discrepancy.

Software

To implement many of the activities that I have mentioned, you don't need any fancy software, just pen and paper. That said, software CAN be a benefit to you and make things easier if you do it right.

Spreadsheet programs – MS Excel, OpenOffice Calc, Gnumeric – These present information in a table format and allow you to specify functions in certain cells based on the value of other cells. For instance, if you want to place the sum of cells A1 and A2 in cell A3, you would put the formula “=A1+A2” or “=SUM(A1:A2)” in cell A3 and the program would do the work. Expense Calendars and Virtual account registers can be implemented using spreadsheet programs. MS Excel is perhaps the most functional for this purpose as information can be summarized from different sheets onto one.

Budget Programs – GNUcash, MS Money, Quicken – Can be useful in tracking expenses and implementing budgets. I use GNUcash as my primary tracking mechanism and have adapted it to tracking virtual accounts.

“My” Guidance

Pay Tithing – This is the NUMBER ONE thing I would emphasize. Pay an honest tithe, whatever this means to you (Malachi 3:10). Pay a generous fast offering.

Counsel with your spouse and older children – Make managing your finances a family affair. Your spouse should be an EQUAL partner. Proposals can be worked out individually but decisions should be made together or not at all. Without spousal support YOU WILL FAIL. Older children should be involved so that they can learn the skills themselves. They might also be able to give valuable insight.

Avoid Debt – There are acceptable forms of debt. Mortgages, Student Loans, and other loans to cover vital needs in times of crisis are all acceptable. However, care should be taken to avoid excesses and to pay down or eliminate even these types of debt as soon as possible. Pay off the most costly debts first. Use a debt reduction calendar if necessary.

Manage your money – Track your expenses, take control of your spending, budget you funds as appropriate to meet your needs without over extending yourself. Set up savings goals and track them using methods that work for you. Change them over time as things change and you gain experience in what works for you and what doesn't.

Build a Reserve – Save up enough money to cover your expenses for AT LEAST 6 months. Due to recent challenges in the economy, many experts are suggesting that these reserves be increased to at least 8 months, if not 12 months.

Pay yourself for anticipated large expenses – We own our own car. We don't have a car loan on it. However, we still have a car payment. Why? Eventually the car will wear out and need to be replaced. By paying ourselves a car payment now, we will have the money to replace the car with an equivalent or better vehicle without going into debt when that time comes.

Family Finances Lesson

The following is the outline for a lesson that was given by a friend, at meeting in our church. The lesson was meant to give some guidelines on family finances. While it does contain some advice specific to counsel given by our church leaders, the advice is pertinent to anyone.

The text has been reprinted with his permission.

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Key Principles

Money is Life Energy – Money is one form of resource that we have available to help us meet our needs. It represents “Life Energy”.

Money represents one of a number of resources – Time, physical work, possessions, skills, and talents represent other resources. Work and School are examples of ways to transform resources from one type to another. The resources we have are the means we are given to take care of our stewardship and we will be held accountable for how well we use them to that effect.

Think for yourself, question “necessary” expenses, avoid “keeping up with the Jones's” – Our society emphasizes consumerism and our role as consumers of the product of industry. We are taught to want more. This is the reason that the model year concept for cars was invented. Anyone else see a problem with this?

We do need things in order to have a happy and productive life. For instance, I wrote my notes on a computer. I photocopied my handouts to create copies for everyone. I researched some of this information on the internet and I drove to church. These activities all required things.

However, there comes a point where things become a burden. The cost of owning an item includes acquisition, maintenance, and disposal, not just acquisition. These costs add up. Items also draw away time and other resources. If they are not worth these resources, they are a burden and should be avoided.

Guidance

Pay Tithing – This is the NUMBER ONE thing I would emphasize. Pay an honest tithe, whatever this means to you (Malachi 3:10). Pay a generous fast offering.

That said, “To pay tithes and offerings while ignoring the balance of Heavenly Father’s advice concerning sound judgment in family finances will probably cause the windows of heaven to stick a little bit.” - Robert L. Simpson May 1982

Counsel with your spouse and older children – Make managing your finances a family affair. Your spouse should be an EQUAL partner. Proposals can be worked out individually but decisions should be made together or not at all. Without spousal support YOU WILL FAIL. Older children should be involved so that they can learn the skills themselves. They might also be able to give valuable insight.

Avoid Debt – There are acceptable forms of debt. Mortgages, Student Loans, and other loans to cover vital needs in times of crisis are all acceptable. However, care should be taken to avoid excesses and to pay down or eliminate even these types of debt as soon as possible. Pay off the most costly debts first. Use a debt reduction calendar if necessary.

Manage your money – Track your expenses, take control of your spending, budget you funds as appropriate to meet your needs without over extending yourself. Set up savings goals and track them. Use methods that work for you. Change them over time as things change and you gain experience.

Build a Reserve – Save up enough money to cover your expenses for AT LEAST 6 months. Due to recent challenges in the economy, many are suggesting that these reserves be increased to at least 8 months, if not 12 months.

Pay yourself for anticipated large expenses – We own our own car. We don't have a car loan on it. However, we still have a car payment. Why? Eventually the car will wear out and need to be replaced. By paying ourselves a car payment now, we will have the money to replace the car with an equivalent or better vehicle without going into debt when that time comes.

Implementation

Reconcile with the past

The first step is to determine where your money is going or where it has gone. There are a number of aspects to this, do what works for you.

Expense Calendar – Create a table with several columns. Each column is an expense category. Every row is either an individual expense or a time period, depending on what works best for you. In the appropriate cell in the table, record the cost amounts for the expense or the time period in question. For instance, if I were to buy $80 groceries on a particular date, I might make a row for the expenditure and put the “$80” in the column for groceries.

Expense notebook – carry in your pocket a notebook and pen. When you spend money, record the date, amount, location, category of the expense and any other information you might feel you need. At the end of the month, lay out each of these expenses into categories and see where your money is going.

Credit Cards – buy everything on your credit card (buy only what you have real money for). Use your credit card statement as record of expenses. Pay it off every month.

Know where you want to go

After you have an idea of where you are, think about where you want to go. Following the advice of the General Authorities is a good start:

Pay off your debt – Recognize what debt is costing you and if the costs exceed what you are getting from other investments, work to reduce it. Use of a debt reduction calendar is a good start for determining how you can do this. Set goals for how much you will pay off and when. Target your most expensive debts first.

Build up a 6-12 month reserve – The general authorities recommend a number of protective measures. For instance, a one year supply of food. This is in the same vein. The idea is to provide a means to weather the hardships of job loss, transition or other economic hardship.

Look towards other goals – Other objectives are worth considering, including home ownership or upgrade, education and vehicle replacement. Look at your family needs and estimate what they will cost to achieve.

Determine how you will get there

“Those who have little, if they are good at managing, must be counted among the rich” - Socrates

Now that you know what you are spending, where it is going and where you want to be, you need to determine how to get there. You need to make conscious decisions to act. You must decide where YOU want your money to actually go. You have a couple of alternatives.

Earn more than you spend – Whatever methods you end up using, aim to have a surplus. You will need to have a surplus to work towards where you want to be. There are several ways to create a surplus, many of them are not exclusively financial. For instance, learning to take care of your personal vehicle can help you reduce or eliminate the amount of money you might pay to professional mechanics.

Use a Budget – This is the simplest way forward. The concept is that you determine how much money you have to deal with, then you divide it into different categories of where you want it to go. The total sum of these categories should be the same or less than your available income. At the end of the budget period, you see how well you did by recording your actual expenses. You then adjust your next budget as needed. Any money left over goes to savings.

Provident Living has an example budget that you can use as a starting point. If you are interested in this approach, and it is a good one to start with, download the budget worksheet and see how well it fits your own. Then, build your own with categories appropriate to your needs and goals.

The Envelope Method – Use different envelopes for different budgetary categories. At the beginning of each period, place your budgetary amount into each envelope. When the money is gone, so is your spending in that category.

Virtual Accounts – Use a ledger for each budget category, creating an account. Money not spend during one period is available for the next. This way, you can track deposits towards larger items. For instance, you may pay your home owner's insurance once a year. If this is say, $360/yr, you could budget $30 a month and track it in a ledger.

Example

In the beginning

Nothing at all – When we were married, I had $12k in a bank account to pay for school and Sandra had $12k in student loans. We had no budget and didn't know where our money was going, only that proceeds from our jobs were exceeded by our expenses. At the same time, our diet consisted primarily of $0.25 boxes of Mac & Cheese. Something had to change.

Paper and Pencil

Expense Calendar – My boss, Chad Rucker, took time to council with me on the subject. He introduced me to the Expense Calendar. We used it to find out where the money was going.

Virtual Accounts – We attempted to budget using a worksheet similar to the one provided on provident living. It didn't work. We felt that we were not seeing any reward for doing well in any particular category. It was as if when we managed to stay below expense in one category, we rewarded that effort by budgeting less of it during the next category. Virtual Accounts helped us solve this problem. The concept is that when we put money in a virtual account and DON'T spend it, the money is available next cycle for use in the same category. Over time, if the expense builds up an excess in the category's virtual account, we reduce the amount going in and still feel rewarded.

Other than budgetary categories, virtual accounts exist to hold funds that are obligated. This includes things like money to pay the credit card bill.

Expense Ledgers – Using ledgers allowed us to track expenses in each virtual account, thus making it easier to show where the money is going an analyze our overall cash flow.

The Computer Age

Spreadsheets – By moving to spreadsheets, we take advantage of the computer's math capabilities to reduce the amount of work needed. Each sheet becomes a ledger. One sheet is used to summarize the information and automatically check the calculations against real account balances.

GNUcash – By creating ledgers for each of the bank accounts and then sub accounts for each of the virtual accounts in the physical accounts, it was even easier to keep the balances of the virtual accounts consistent with reality.

Helper Accounts – By adding an “adjustment” account to each of the physical accounts, money could physically reside in one account but be credited in another. This allowed for better tracking of the true balance of virtual accounts. Ever so often, the balance of all “adjustment” accounts need to be added up as a check against errors. The total of all adjustment accounts must equate to zero.

Other Principles

Luxuries can be necessities – Some things that may seem to be luxuries on the surface can actually be great for your health, sanity and well being. Don't judge something as a needless luxury or be too spend thrifty. Be frugal. Have modest and affordable release valves so that the stresses involved in being financially disciplined don't cause you to make big mistakes here and there. I speak from experience.

Be Happy about paying taxes, sad if you get a refund – A refund means you gave the government an interest free loan.

Don't “create” needless deductions – Take advantage of all deductions and credits you have, but don't go out of your way to create new deductions. This is like paying someone $10 to get $1 in return. Don't do it (or if you really want the same effect, I'll give you the same deal.)

Additional Resources

These are some additional resources that might help in developing your solution.

Non Church Resources:

Your Money or Your Life

Suzie Orman

Church Resources

Provident Living Website

One for the Money: Guide to Family Finance by Marvin J. Ashton

“Happily Living within Our Means” - January 2008 Ensign

“Personal and Family Financial Preparedness” - May 1979 Ensign

“Let Him do it with Simplicity” - Nov 2008 Ensign – Discusses some of the basic needs that we have.

“A Lasting Marriage” - May 1982 Ensign – Robert L. Simpson

“Catching the Vision of Self Reliance” May 1986 Ensign

Internet Coupons

I've had several people ask me about coupons for grocery items. Coupons can be a great tool to help you gather items for your Family Home Storage. You can get some coupons from the store (sometimes posted near the items). For those of you who have a major US newspaper in your area, the Sunday edition usually has coupons in it as well.

I also use internet coupons. For most internet coupons sites, you must be using a Windows based OS platform (like XP or Vista). You will have to download a program which monitors your printing, allows you to print, etc.

There are tons of great sites out there for internet coupons. Most of them are related to grocery items, but there are some for other items. I've listed some of my favorites below.

Most sites allow you to print only two copies of each coupon within a certain time period (usually about a month).

Remember to check with your local stores to make sure that they accept these coupons. Many do, but some may require a dot scan barcode beneath the expiration date. You can usually check the store's website (or ask at customer service) for their coupon policies.


Coupons.Com
This site provides a variety of coupons, for a range of products.

Very Best Kids
Sign up for their newsletter, and they will include coupons for several Nestle products (usually totaling about $8) a month.

Betty Crocker
Some great coupons for products we buy often, especially cereal and baking products. Also a great source for recipes.

Pillsbury
This is run by the same company that produces Betty Crocker, so you'll find some duplicate coupons on this one, but they are still good!

Box Tops for Education
This site is also run by General Mills, and duplicates some of the coupons from the Betty Crocker and Pillsbury site. The nice thing about this one, is that by signing up, you can earn Box Tops, which can be given to the school of your choice to provide them with additional income. All the products which have coupons on this site also have boxtops on their packaging, so remember to clip them and give back to your schools!

Smart Source
Like Coupons.com, this is a general grocery coupon site.

I also believe that the commissary's website also carries a few internet coupons.

If you discover any new sites for coupons, let me know!

Monthly Focus: Family Home Storage - Clarification

I wanted to make a quick clarification on the information I sent out earlier. You may have noticed the following entry:

• "luxuries"- candies, marshmallows, alcohol, chocolate

I am by no means advocating that you, as members of the church, purchase or store alcohol. My suggestion was two pronged.

First, the luxury items are meant to be a "distraction" during a difficult time or an emergency. From a psychological perspective, wouldn't a hard time pass much easier if you could still indulge in a treat once in a while?

Second, during a true dire emergency, it may be possible to barter or trade these luxury items for staple items (like flour or produce), which you may need. It is my personal belief that certain people will still want to feed their vices, even when in dire straits.

I have met many members of the church who purchase items (such as alcohol, cigarettes, chocolate), and store them in their Family Home Storage, with the sole purpose of having "high value" items to barter with. Should you take this approach? I can't say. That would be a very personal decision, and one you would have to each make yourselves.

Preparing your Family Home Storage is a necessary step, but what items (even "luxury" ones) you choose to store is entirely up to you and your family. Look at the guidelines that have been offered. Follow your intstincts and moral values. Prepare in a way that meets your needs and helps you feel comfortable.

Sorry for any confusion or upset.

Monthly Focus: Family Home Storage

This month we are looking at Family Home Storage, a.k.a Food Storage. The reason I use the newer moniker for this is, that Food Storage is misleading. Your Family Home Storage needs to include much more than just food.

Currently the advice is to have at least 3 MONTHS of storage in your home, but it is recommended that you have a year's supply. That sounds like a lot, especially if you have even a medium sized family.

There are ways to help you get started. There are a variety of plans and programs that will guide you on what to buy and when to buy it. Below are links to a few of these plans.

Noah's Ark Program

Storage Calendar

Project Noah

It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark booklet

Monthly Food Storage Plan - The Ark Project

You can also create your own plan. Base your plan on resources available in your area and your shopping habits. Here are some other suggestions on how to build up your food storage.

• Make use of bulk sales at your local store, or consider buying in bulk from a warehouse store in your area.
• Take advantage of good sales and deals at your local store. Check ads and the shelves to find some bargains. Tuna 10 cans for a $1.00, stock up!
• Add an extra item to your normal list. Need to get a can of peaches this week for dinner? Add an extra one to the cart.
• Consider setting aside a portion of your grocery budget every week to go to family home storage. Then you can get items you need without worrying too much about the extra cost.
• Use coupons. This will help defray the cost. Also if you have coupon that is money off two or more items (say a $1.00 off 2 boxes of cereal), consider putting that second item in your storage.
  

While you will need a plan or approach to family home storage, it is important to know what you should be including in it. Here are some of the basic groups that you should include. This is by no means definitive. Be sure that you have considered any special needs in your family, special conditions in your area, or availability. Also be sure to be storing items that you will USE! I've tried to include a variety of options for categories, but know what your family will eat. We don't want this stuff to go to waste.

Food

• Fruits- Canned fruit, dehydrated fruit (raisins, berries, etc), fruit leather (I personally recommend Stretch Island Fruit Leather), applesauce, fruit juices.
• Vegetables- Canned vegetables, dehydrated vegetables, possibly frozen vegetables
• Protein- canned meat (tuna, chicken, ham), dehydrated meat (beef jerkey), package meat (bacon bits, luncheon meats), nuts, peanut butter, beans (pinto, black, red, lima, kidney), dehydrated eggs
• Dairy- Shelf milk (boxed liquid milk with a long shelf life), powdered milk, canned milk, dried/dehydrated cheese
  
• Starches- crackers, pasta, bread mixes, pancake mix
• Sugars- granulated sugar, powdered sugar, brown sugar (be careful on how you store this), corn syrup
• Grains- flour, wheat, rice, barley
• Oils and Fats- shortening, cooking oil, mayonnaise, olive oil
• Baking supplies- baking soda, salt, baking powder, baking mixes (consider ones that only require water)
• Liquids- WATER!!!!, juice, soda
• Other- condiments (ketsup, etc), drink mix, high energy foods (nutritional substitutes, granola bars), spices
  
• "luxuries"- candies, marshmallows, alcohol, chocolate
• VITAMINS! - You should have a multivitamin available (or individual vitamins if you cannot consume a multivitamin) which is appropriate for each age group. Sustained use of "life sustaining" supplies may not be providing all of your nutritional needs. Having a multivitamin will help to ensure that you stay healthy.
  

Water - This is a difficult one to store in large enough quantities. You should have at least 72 hours worth of water (that is one gallon PER PERSON PER DAY!).

Paper Goods- In the event of an emergency, you may not have adequate facilities to wash and sanitize eating utensils. Consider having some paper bowls, plates, disposable cups, plastic cutlery, paper towels, paper napkins, and disposable pots/pans.

Hygiene Items- Shampoo, conditioner, soap, deodorant

Personal Care- Tampons, maxi pads

Medical- bandages, rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, antibiotic ointment, tylenol (or other anti-inflamatory drug), antacids, decongestant

Baby- diapers, wipes, formula, canned baby food (can be eaten by adults and children as well)


It is important to store these items well, but it doesn't mean you have to store them in a little room. Be creative with your storage. Here are some of the places people told me that they stored items:

• under couches
• under beds
• closet shelves
• basements
• storage rooms
• storage sheds
• kitchen cabinets
• books shelves
• under misc. furniture

Another suggestion for Family Home storage is to know how to use it. It may be useful to practice making meals with the items you have in storage. There is nothing worse than having food and not knowing what to do with it. Also consider storing a book of recipes that include ingredients you have. You can buy recipe books, or you can make your own using a 3-ring binder and recipes you find.

It is also important to have a way to cook items in an emergency (assuming you are either on the go or the electricity is out). Consider having a small camping or backpacking stove available (remember to use them only in well ventilate areas), or if you have a barbeque grill, have fuel supplies stored for it. If you have a fireplace or wood burning stove, you can also consider storing cast iron cook ware.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints offers recipe books and a Family Home Storage Starter Kit through their distribution services. There are also many other sites that offer a variety of preserved, freeze dried, canned, or bagged food items for this purpose (just Google food storage to find some of them).

If you add a little at a time, it really will build up. This isn't a "quick" fix, so don't get discouraged if you cannot get your food storage all ready to go in one day. Keep trying!

Also remember to rotate items, first in, first out. You don't want items to go to waste. Also remember the "expiration dates" on most items are merely a recommendation. Do what you are comfortable with, but keep in mind if that can of green beans expired last week, they are probably still okay.

Please review the resources available, talk to friends and family, make your plan, and get started today!

Mini Challenges: Gather Important Documents

We can't help it. We are a culture of paperwork. We have forms for everything...documenting our entire lives. In an emergency, you will need some (if not all) of those documents to receive services, move, recreate identification, etc.

Our February 1 mini-challenge is to gather copies of important documents. You will need to have the originals for some items, but for others, photocopies will suffice in an emergency (at least to get the original replaced). If you are storing photocopies, and not the original, be sure to have contact information for the agency that supplied the original so you can replace it when necessary.

Okay, here is a short list of documents you should consider storing. It is by no means complete, and if you find something that I have left off, please leave a comment with your suggestions.

Birth Certificates - Everyone should have an official copy of their birth certificate on hand. Often times these are necessary to register for services (such as medical, school, passports), or to replace other documents or identification. For those individuals born overseas, be sure to have a copy of the original host nation birth certificate, as well as the Consular Report of Foreign Birth (the consular birth reports are difficult to replace, so keep it in a safe place, and make sure you have a photocopy of it somewhere).

Marriage Certificates/Licenses- While the beautiful certificate you undoubtedly received from the institution where you were married is important to you, it won't generally help you in the paperwork game. You will need a certified copy of your marriage license from the jurisdiction where you were married. These are not generally hand over as a matter of course after you are married - you usually have to request them (and they generally cost between $10-$20).

Social Security Cards - Since the SSN became the national ID number (by default) in the United States, it is important to have this card. Your children should also have one (for children born overseas, it is usually an extra step to request the card). You should sign your card (for children, leave unsigned. They will have to sign it when they are of age), this will help to prevent identity theft in the case the card is lost or stolen.

Driver's License or State Sponsored Identification Card- While this is generally carried in your wallet (or at least on your person), it can't hurt to have a copy in your files, in case it gets lost. You generally need to know the Identification Number to expidite having it replaced.

Passport - for those of you who travel or live overseas, this is especially important, as the United States now requires every living citizen (and yes that means babies too) to have a passport (or a REAL ID....see your state authorities on whether they are in compliance with this program) in order to board a plane, even a domestic flight. You should always have your actual passport secured (these are a very valuable commodity), and for emergency purposes, you should have a photocopy of it in your files. Having a photocopy of it will allow the embassy/consulate to expidite a replacement.

Wills - If you have a will...and you should, especially if you have kids....you should have at least a copy of it in your files. It is generally a good a idea to keep the original in a safe place (removed from your domicile) like a safety deposit box. It may also be advisable to leave a copy (and/or a key to the original's location) with a trusted friend or relative (they should at least know where to find the original in case of your death).ff

Insurance Documents - You should have copies of all your policies (Auto, Home, Life), as well as contact information for your insurance provider (in case you need to file a claim).

Deeds/Certificates of Ownership- If you own a home, a car, or stocks, you likely have a title, deed, or some form of a certificate of ownership. You should have these on hand. If you own any of these items, but there is a lien (a mortgage or loan) against the item, you should have some type of document from the lien-holder.

Household Inventory - While not everyone may have one, in case of an insurance claim, it would be important to have an inventory of your belongings to ensure that you are appropriately reimbursed for your loss.

Medical Information - If you, or a family member, has a special medical condition (such as diabetes, cancer, etc) or an allergy that emergency personnel should be aware of, it is important to have some type of documentation on that condition. It is also important to have documentation related to health insurance available.

Tax Returns - These are generally kept for about 3 years (up to 6 years depending on how you file taxes, etc). While you probably won't need these in an emergency, they are important documents to keep on hand.

Wage and Earning Statements - Again, you probably won't need these in an emergency, but they are important to keep until you can verify your income against your W-2 forms and Social Security Statement (usually received every year around your birthday).

Savings/Investment Account Information - You may need this information in an emergency (or in the event of your death, your relative may need it). Having a document which contains account access information (numbers, holder of account, passowords, etc), can be useful, but be careful how it is stored. If such a document were lost or stolen, you could have serious financial repercussions.


Since you are storing these documents for emergency situations, they will need to be kept in a central, and "disaster" proof location. I would generally recommend that you procure a fire and water proof (that is right WATER proof too, because most damage in a fire actually occurs from the rescue efforts) safe or box. These can be found a local discount stores, such as Walmart or Target, or at office supply stores.

Mini Challenges: Fill the Ark!

Welcome to a new year! We've had a nice long holiday hiatus, and now it is time to get back into the business of Provident Living. Our January 15 Mini-Challenge is called "Fill the Ark"....I know nobody really has an ark (if you do, drop us a line, I'd be interested to hear about it). The point of this mini-challenge is to begin to gather your Family Home Storage (a.k.a. Food Storage).

Our last challenge was to determine your food storage needs, so hopefully you have a good idea of the supplies your family will need for this new challenge. Now I don't expect anyone to rush out and buy a year's supply, in fact this challenge will be really, really, really easy.

Here is the goal: gather enough food for your family for 72 HOURS! That is right folks, 3 days. According the government, that is approximately how long it would take for emergency services to reach you during a disaster (now let's face it, it would probably take longer based on the disaster, but let's start out with an easy time frame). Our nation has been experiencing some wild weather lately, so I am sure a lot of people can relate to being stuck at home, evacuated, or otherwise prevented from accessing your normal services.

Your 72 Hour goal should include some basic items:

• Water - very important as you can't survive longer than a few days without water. Consider getting water bottles in whatever size you feel comfortable getting. You won't be able to count on your city/well water as a source in an emergency, so make sure to have a back up.
• Food- Make sure that this food can be consumed with minimal cooking. Why is that? Consider that during an emergency you are likely to loose your electricity/gas, and therefore likely to loose your means to cook the food. Consider using canned fruits and veggies, beef jerkey (or other preserved meats like canned tuna), canned milk/powedered milk, cereals, cracker, granola bars or other "high energy" snacks, dried fruits, candies or other high calorie goodies (especially important for people who may be dealing with diabetes or other metabolic disorders), and don't forget to throw in some comfort items (especially for kids). Make sure whatever food that you have is food that you will actually use, since you'll have to rotate through it eventually.
• Medicines- You should at least have basic items like Tylenol (adult and child), multi-vitamins (to help supplement the vitamins/minerals from your food), whatever regular medications that your family members use, items like rubbing alcohol/hydrogen peroxide, and whatever else you use as normal medical supplies.
• Personal Care Items- such as feminine hygiene products, band aids, toilet paper, lotion, shampoo, etc.

You can add items as you see fit from your planning. Make sure you are comfortable with what you are storing, as they should be items you will use (we don't want anything to go to waste).

You should be able to add these items to your normal shopping list. Take it slowly, don't rush out and buy it all tomorrow. Take the two weeks and spread it out!

** It is important to never use gas or propane powered cooking devices inside. Please be careful when considering your Family Home Storage items. If you plan to have items that will require cooking, be sure to have a safe, outdoor, ventilated space in which to use any cooking devices you may also be storing. Saftey is important!

Mini Challenges: Determine Your Food Storage Needs

Food storage (or Home Storage) is often a tricky subject. The LDS Church guidelines recommend a year's supply of food for you and your family. Some resources suggest less. Space is often an issue, and depending on where you live, laws may prohibit you from storing very much. If you live or work in the military community, you know hauling all that food to different duty stations can be difficult. So what is one to do? The answer is: Do what you can.

Well, since you generally can't rush out and get a year's supply tomorrow, we're going to start small...baby steps. Our December 15th Mini-Challenge is to calculate your family's food storage needs and make a food storage plan.

This exercise will involve a few steps.

1. Determine your family size...don't forget pets!
2. Pick a time frame. I would suggest starting with 72 hours. Then you can also calculate needs for 1 month, then 3 months, then 6 months, and then a year. This will help give you an idea of the different goals you can set, and the amount of food each period would require. If space is a concern, this could help you gauge for what time period you could store food.
3. Using some guidelines or calculators (Long Term Food Storage Calculator or General Food Storage Calculator), determine what the recommended amount (and types) of food are for your family. Don't be afraid to find a subsitution that works for your family. Food storage won't help if you won't eat it. ...just make sure you are covering all the essential categories.
4. Determine what types of special needs your family would have. You'll need to keep in mind items such as pet food, diapers, wipes, formula, baby food, medicines, vitamins, and personal sanitary items. Try to figure out how much you use during your selected time period and make sure you include those things in your list.
5. Make a list of all the items you would need, including quantities.
6. Make a trip to your local grocery or discount store and "shop" your list. This doesn't mean you have to buy anything...in fact DON'T buy anything yet. Just look for the items you've identified, and get an idea of what they cost. Add up the total cost (cost of each item x quantity needed) of each item and then the complete total for your entire list.
7. Make a goal of when you would like to have your food storage in place. Keep in mind the longer the time period you have chosen, the longer it will take you to aquire.
8. Take your total cost and divide it into increments based on your pay schedule or shopping schedule, to determine how much money you will need to spend each week/pay period to reach your goal. Say you have decided you want to have your food storage goal complete in three months. You shop every week. Your total is $300. That means that you would be spending roughly $25 a week on food storage in order to meet your goal.
9. Determine how you will finance this goal. Do you have a budgetary category for food storage? Will it come out of your normal grocery budget? Do you have a chunk of funds set aside in savings you want to use? It doesn't have to be complicated, but you should know how you will finance it, since food storage shouldn't put you into debt.
10. Share your plan with your family and ask for ideas on completing the goal together. You never know, you may find a co-worker or friend that is giving away an item on your list. Your children might want to "donate" to the goal from their allowance. You may be able to can some items yourself (if you have the resources and know how). Get creative.
11. And finally, don't despair or become discouraged. It will take time and effort, but it WILL be worth it.

It is hard to reach a goal, when you don't know what that goal will entail. That is why it is so important to do the planning. Take some time out to assess your food storage needs and set some goals. This is a very important part of Provident Living, and in these uncertain economic times, Food and Home Storage can be a great comfort.

Monthly Focus: Budgeting and Financial Communication

Our focus for November and December is on budgeting and financial communication.

Keep in mind that the word "BUDGET" means something different to everyone, and that that is okay. They way that you choose to budget may not be the same as your neighbor, or even your spouse.

BUDGET is not a bad word! The goal of a budget is not to restrict you, starve you of fun, or make you miserable. The goal of a budget is to help you be in control of your money, to be responsible with your stewardship.

While the execution may vary, the basic principle of a budget is to help you spend less than you earn. There are a multitude of ways to do that. I have heard ideas ranging from envelopes of cash for expenses, to complicated accounting practices involving electronic tracking of expenditures. No way is going to be the right way for everyone. You have to find a way that fits your finances, your lifestyle, and your knowledge....and keep in mind your way may change as those factors do!

With that said, there are a few things to keep in mind when making a budget:

1. Know what your expenses are. You can't budget for things you don't know about or acknowledge. Keep track of what you spend for a time (most appropriately for a month), holding on to receipts can help. After tracking your expenses for a time you will have a better idea of where your money is going.
2. Be realistic about your expenditures. Make sure your budget realistically reflects your needs. Budgets need to cover not only your bills, but also your expenses. So, if you buy that latte or donut every morning but don't have it as part of your budget, you could get derailed pretty fast. You have to be honest with yourself (and your partner) about what you spend and where you are spending it.
3. Know what your income is. This seems pretty easy, as we all generally get paystubs or some other document telling us how much money we are receiving. Make sure you know how much you are getting, especially keeping in mind things like taxes, fees, retirement, etc that may be automatically removed from your pay before it gets to your bank or your hands.
4. Make sure your budget doesn't exceed your income. When you match your expenditures up to your income, make sure that they are at the very least the same, but preferrably having expenses lower than income. If you find that your expenses exceed your income, it's time to do a financial inventory and see what can be cut or at least cut back.
   
5. Remember budgets are dynamic. What your budget looks like today will likely be different than it will look in a year or two. Make sure to periodically review your budget to make sure it continues to meet your needs. You may find expenses that are new that need to be added, old expenses that no longer exist, or amounts that need to be adjusted. You may start out with a simple budget which may become more complex as you learn more about your money and budgeting. Don't be afraid of the change!
   
6. Share the budget. If you live with other people (like children or a spouse) make sure that they know what the budget is....especially if they spend money from that budget. This can also be a useful teaching tool for your children.
7. Don't be afraid to get help. Budgets don't make themselves, and financial education is not generally prominent. Don't wait to make a budget simply because you think you don't know what to do. There are plenty of resources (many of them free) to help you get started. Look online (see the sidebar for some links to financial resources), you can find free worksheets, budgeting tips, even forums for people to discuss budgeting. Ask friends and family for suggestions or help. Make use of community resources available. Don't be afraid of budgeting, learn, get help, and get started!
   

While budgeting will certainly help with gaining control of your financial help, if you have a partner, financial communication is another vital aspect of your financial health. Your finanical health is a joint venture between you and your partner, and you both are stewards of that financial health, responsible for its condition.

Just as there are a variety of ways to create your budget, there are a variety of ways to divide responsibility and facilitate communication. Regardless of how you choose to budget or divide the financial responsibility, good commuinication is essential.

Here are a few ideas on how to facilitate financial communication, and keep everyone in the loop, that were shared at our monthly meeting, and elsewhere:

1. Hold regular "financial" meetings. This was the most stated suggestion. Frequency varied from weekly to quarterly, but most suggestiosn were for monthly meetings. You and your partner can go over your budget, discuss expenses for the month, discuss future expenses, and share your experiences with your financial responsibilities.
2. Be financially honest. You shouldn't be afraid to share your financial concerns, successes or failures with your partner. It may not be easy, but financial honesty is essential for good financial health and a good partnership.
3. Have some place where financial health is documented. These suggestions ranged from a checkbook ledger to electronic logs (such as money management software). Having this information written down can help to facilitate communication, and help you both keep a handle on your financial health.
4. Be involved. While one might be responsible for paying bills, and the other for buying groceries, you should both be involved. You may choose to divide financial responsibility in different ways, but make sure you both participate in this important aspect of your partnership.
5. Take a money day. We all take sick days, vacation days, even holidays, but how many people think to take a money day? Take a day, sit down with your partner, and talk about your money. Take your monthly meeting to a new level. This can be done as often as you want, but is recommended that you do it at least once a year. Set financial goals, review your budget and make any changes needed, take stock of your financial health. Discuss your financial responsibilities with your partner and make changes in that if needed. Don't want to pay bills this year, well maybe you can trade responsibilties or adjust your range of responsibilities to what suits you now. Give your financial picture a good looking over.
6. Make your plan together. While, on some level, this may be best done before your partnership begins (in fact experts recommend you discuss finances before getting married), sometimes we get started late in the game. You may have missed the pre-marital window, but that is no reason to not have a plan. Discuss with your partner your expectations for your finances and for each other. Very rarely do two people with exactly the same financial ideas get married. You'll likely have to compromise, but if you sit down together to make a plan, it is more likely to work. But dont' forget, even the best laid financial plan needs to be dynamic. Life changes and so will your plan!
   

The process of having a workable budget and good financial communication will take time....nothing that important happens overnight! Don't be discouraged if the process seems to take longer than you would think or like. By taking the first step to create a budget and share financial communication with your partner, you have done the hardest part.

Financial responsibility, living with in our means, and being financially healthy are important aspects of our lives. This is made even more poignant by the recent economic crisis sweeping across the world. Some times it is hard to think of the "lean" times when there is plenty, but the lean times will come, and having a handle on your finances will make those times much less scary and stressful.

Resources and Articles:

Happily Living Within Our Means

Family Finances

Where does the money go?

Five Steps to Financial Well-Being

Know Where your Money goes

Make Marriage a Partnership - Couples Counseled at Fireside

Mini Challenges: Make a Financial "Rainy Day" Plan

It's that time again, a new month has begun and it is time for a new mini-challenge. Keeping in line with our monthly (or in this case bi-monthly) focus of finances, our December 1 challenge will be to create a financial rainy day plan.

While this will take time, experts recommend having at least 6 months, but preferably a year, of your expenses set aside in case of an emergency (such as a job loss, disability, accident, etc). You can start out small (say one pay period) and work up slowly (say the next step being 3 months) toward whatever level you have decided on. A little savings is better than none.

While this doesn't mean that you have to rush out tomorrow and have all your rainy day money set aside and every contingency taken care of, you do have to start somewhere.

Here is what it does entail:

1. Review your income. Determine how much you have coming in.
2. Review your expenses. This ties into our mini-challenge for the last period of making a budget.
3. Determine what your expenses would be for a 6 month period. Assume that for this 6 month period you have no income coming in.
4. Now you know how much you need to save.
5. Determine a goal length for saving your total. Consider saving it over a year, two years, 6 months, whatever you think your income will allow and what fits your needs and wants.
6. Decide on a way to break down the total into manageable chunks, whether that is by week, by pay period, by month, etc. In whatever way fits with your timetable and income.
7. When you have determined how you want to break down the total, make a plan for saving it. There are plenty of ways to find the money.

• Add it as a budgetary item, which is easy if you are breaking the total down by weeks or pay periods.
• Consider assigning "excess" funds, such as tax refunds, pay bonuses, or gifts to meet your total.
• Save your spare change from cash purchases, and after a set time period, deposit the total towards your goal.
• Have 26 pay periods a year instead of 24? Consider budgeting using the 24 and deposit the "extra" 2 pay periods into your rainy day fund.
  

After you've made your plan (and don't forget to include your partner), think of ways to keep yourself on track.

1. Consider making a chart that will allow you to mark off as you contribute to your rainy day fund. Think of those giant thermometers that help us see how much we've contributed to various charities. This can help motivate you as will have a visual reminder of your progress.
2. Think of a reward for when you reach your goal. Maybe a dinner out, a new movie, something to look forward too....just make sure that you have set aside funds for that too :)
3. Keep a "checkbook" ledger to help you track your savings.
4. Consider adding all the dividends and interest from investment and bank accounts.
5. Consider giving up a vice or luxury (such as the morning latte, cigarettes, candy bars, etc) and putting that money toward your goal...it could not only make you richer, but healthier too!

Now, you are on your way to having a rainy day fund! Remember this is meant to relieve some of your financial stress, and give you some security.

As time goes on, your expenses and savings may change. Remember to review your "rainy day" plan and adjust it as is necessary for you.

If you have any easy or cool ideas on how to set aside those pennies, or success stories on how you have saved, please post them! Even if it is just a little at a time, you can do it!