1. Unit One: budgeting
Getting Your
Finances on
Solid Ground
June 2012
Saunders Learning Group, LLC, Andover, KS

2. Topics
 Tracking your money flow
 Maximizing your income
 Thinking about tomorrow
 Creating a budget
Saunders Learning Group, LLC, Andover, KS

3. Training from Saunders Learning Group
Saunders Learning Group provides a variety
of training programs, workshops and
seminars targeted to the financial services
industry.
Programs are available in a wide range of
topics, and we are specialists in developing
custom programs that are targeted to your
needs.
Contact the founder, Floyd Saunders at
316-680-6482 or at
floyd@floydsaunders.com for more
information.
Saunders Learning Group, LLC, Andover, KS
3

4. Welcome
Introductions
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5. Tracking Your Money Flow
 Create a spending plan
o Identify your income
o List your expenses
o Compare income and expenses
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6. Tracking Your Money Flow
 Plugging Spending Leaks
o An example of a spending leak:
You buy coffee every morning at $3.50
a day. That is $17.50 a week (5 days
x $3.50), $70 a month (20 days x $3.50),
$910 a year (52 weeks x $17.50).
Saunders Learning Group, LLC, Andover, KS

7. Maximizing Your Income
 Reducing variable expenses
 Workforce and personal
development
o Explore a trade
o Return to school
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8. Managing Debt Effectively
 How Much Debt Is Too Much?
 Using Credit Cards Wisely
o Shop around for the lowest
rate.
o Use only one or two cards.
o Pay bills as soon as they arrive.
o Always pay more than the
minimum balance due.
Saunders Learning Group, LLC, Andover, KS

9. The Top Ten Signs You Have Too Much Debt
Although a limited amount of debt isn’t necessarily a bad thing, excessive debt can prevent
you from achieving your long-term financial goals. Here are ten signs that your have too much
debt:
2.More than 20 percent of your income goes toward paying off car loans, credit card debt, or
other kinds of bills.
3.You have to borrow money each month to pay off your debts.
4.You don’t know how much money you owe.
5.You pay only the minimum amount on each bill.
6.You pay your bills late each month, and sometimes even miss payments.
7.Creditors have to call you to get you to pay your bills.
8.Businesses refuse to give you credit.
9.You have taken money from retirement accounts and/or have used credit cards to pay
normal monthly bills.
10.You write post-dated checks.
11.You have to take an extra job in order to keep up with your bills.
Saunders Learning Group, LLC, Andover, KS

10. Ten Quick Ways to Start Getting Out of Debt
Debt can make you feel like you’re living at the bottom of a deep well. But there are several ways to pull
yourself up and out into the daylight of financial security. The following steps can help you get started:
2.Start Today - Because interest on debt compounds over time, there’s no time to get started like the present.
3.Cut your expenses so that you can use more of your money to pay off your debts.
4.Work with a credit counselor to set up a debt-reduction plan.
5.Send any extra cash toward the creditor who is charging you the highest interest.
6.Consolidate your loans by shifting higher-interest loans to a single lower rate loan
7. Limit yourself to one or two credit cards.
1. Pay off other cards you, cancel other your accounts, and cut up those cards.
2. Keep the final one or two cards in a safe place at home, where you won’t be tempted to use them
for frivolous occasions.
3. Call the card companies and have the credit limit lowered on those last cards to prevent you from
running up too much debt on them.
4. (To make sure that no other card offers come your way, you can call 1-888-5OPT-OUT.)
8.Earn the most money you can. Perhaps take a second job or work overtime to increase your monthly income.
9.Sell or trade items that you own yet never use. .
10.When you pay off one debt, add that amount to the next biggest bill to begin to pay off the remaining bills
faster (This is known as the snowball effect).
11.Be honest with yourself. If you purchased a car and having trouble making monthly payments, you may be
better off selling the car and paying off your loan than letting a creditor repossess the car
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11. the art of
budgeting
04/09
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12. the budgeting process
phase 1: Assess your personal and financial situation
(needs, values, life situation).
phase 2: Set personal and financial goals.
phase 3: Create a budget for fixed and variable expenses
based on projected income.
phase 4: Monitor current spending (saving, investing)
patterns.
phase 5: Compare your budget to what you have actually
spent.
phase 6: Review financial progress and revise budgeted
amounts.
Saunders Learning Group, LLC, Andover, KS

13. goal-setting guidelines
well-written personal and financial goals SHOULD:
 be realistic
I you are working part-time is not likely to be able to afford a new car every couple of
years.
 be specific
“I want to save $5,000 for a down payment to buy a house.”
 have a timeframe
“I want to pay off my credit card within the next 18 months.”
 state the action to be taken
“I want to start an automatic deposit savings account with monthly withdrawals from my
checking account.”
Saunders Learning Group, LLC, Andover, KS

14. setting up and maintaining a budget
income budget actual difference
Job #1 $ $ $
Job #1 $ $ $
Other $ $ $
total monthly $ $ $
income
expenses budget actual difference
fixed regular expenses
Rent $ $ $
Car insurance $ $ $
Car payment $ $ $
Credit card $ $ $
fixed irregular expenses
Savings $ $ $
Food $ $ $
Utilities $ $ $
Saunders Learning Group, LLC, Andover, KS

15. setting up and maintaining a budget
(continued)
expenses budget actual difference
transportation
Bus fare $ $ $
Gas and oil $ $ $
Parking and tolls $ $ $
Repairs $ $ $
other
Medical expenses $ $ $
Clothing $ $ $
Entertainment $ $ $
Household items $ $ $
Personal items $ $ $
Tuition $ $ $
School expenses $ $ $
total monthly $ $ $
expenses
Saunders Learning Group, LLC, Andover, KS

16. Thinking About Tomorrow
 Start saving
 Create an emergency fun
 Plan with Short, medium, and
long-term goals
Saunders Learning Group, LLC, Andover, KS

17. Review
 Create a spending plan
 Plug the spending leaks
 Maximize your income
 Focus on your financial goals
 Create a budget that allows
you reach your goals
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18. Questions
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19. Post Workshop Action Plan
 Complete the Post Workshop Action Plan
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20. About the Presenter
 Floyd Saunders has worked on Wall Street
with both Bank of America and JPMorgan,
where is was a vice president in global
financial systems. He has worked across
the industry in retail, commercial, and
investment banking.
 He has taught courses in Money and
Banking, Principles of Banking, Managerial
Finance and extensively for the American
Institute of Banking and various colleges.
 As a consultant, he developed and taught
a wide range of banking and investing
courses.
 He authored three programs for the
American Bankers Association: Banking on
Mutual Funds and Annuities, Introduction to
Securities Markets and Investing in
Securities.
 He is the author of “Figuring Out Wall
Street, a consumer’s guide to financial
makets”
 Look for his next book, “Family Financial
Freedom” available as an e-book soon.
Saunders Learning Group, LLC, Andover, KS