Find Out Your Budgeting Personality
1.
If $20,000 came to me unexpectedly, my first impulse would be:
Why a Spending Plan is Your First Step to Building Wealth
A spending plan is really a plan for how you will use your money to
help you live the life you want. Your budget will inspire you to:
A. To spend it on things I really want, including gifts for others.
1.) Get Your Financial Life Organized
B.
2.) Gain a Sense of Control Over Your Money
To put it in my savings account.
C. To feel so overwhelmed that I’d put off making decisions about it.
3.) Avoid Impulse Spending
D. To invest it in order to make the biggest profits possible.
E.
2.
4.) Save for Big Items You Really Want
To give most of it away and use it to make the world a better place.
5.) Be Prepared for Emergencies
When it comes to dealing with my money:
6.) Achieve Financial Well-Being
A. I enjoy spending it on gifts for myself and others, and on whatever will
give me immediate pleasure.
B.
Creating a Budget is Not Complicated
I hold onto it and enjoy thinking about the security it provides.
C. I try not to think about it and hope it will take care of itself.
D. I worry about it a lot and strategize how to make more and more of it.
E. I make sure that it never influences my life choices.
3.
My goals about my money are:
Income
-
4.
To save enough of it now so that I never have to worry about my old age.
Dave Ramsey
Other Experts
Saving/Investing
5-10%
5-10%
Housing
25-35%
20-30%
E.
Utilities
5-10%
4-7%
When it comes to following a budget:
Food
5-15%
15-20%
A. I hate the word budget. I prefer spending plan!
Transportation
To have enough to satisfy my basic needs and then give the rest away.
I enjoy following mine closely.
D. I rework my budget often to figure out ways to have more money to spend and save.
E.
I take pride in living so simply that I’ve never needed a budget.
When it comes to spending money:
A. I love spending money, and I tend to spend more than I earn.
B.
I’d rather save my money than spend it. Spending money makes me nervous.
C. I hope I’ll have enough money to take care of unexpected expenses.
D. I enjoy spending money, as long as I keep accumulating it at the same time.
E.
I don’t follow where my money goes, and I don’t want to. I focus on more
important aspects of my life.
I deal with financial record keeping as follows:
A. I keep some records but have trouble organizing them and finding them.
B.
I enjoy keeping careful records.
C. I’m not even sure which records I should be keeping.
D. I keep reworking my records, to figure out ways to make more money or to
make my money work better for me.
E.
7.
= $0
D. To make as much of it as possible, as quickly as possible.
C. I don’t have a budget and never want one. My money will take care of itself.
6.
Expenses
C. Unclear to me.
B.
5.
-
Recommended Percentages
A. To have enough of it to ensure that I can buy whatever I want.
B.
Savings
I don’t keep records. I hate to spend my time this way.
When it comes to saving money:
A.
I have trouble saving money, and this bothers me sometimes.
B.
Saving comes naturally to me. I am regular and consistent.
C.
I know I ought to be saving money, but I never seem to get around to it.
10-15%
6-20%
Clothing
2-7%
2-4%
Medical/Health
5-10%
2-8%
Personal
5-10%
2-5%
Entertainment
5-10%
2-5%
Debts
5-10%
15-20%
Charitable Gifts
10-15%
not included
50/20/30 Rule
The 50/20/30 Rule is easy because instead of telling you how
to break down your budget across 20 or more different categories, it splits everything into three main categories:
1. Essential Expenses
No more than 50% of your take-home pay should go toward
Essential Expenses, which are the expenses you need in order
to maintain the fundamentals of your life: shelter, food, heat,
etc. Only four expenses go in this category: housing, transportation, utilities and groceries.
2. Financial Priorities
At least 20% of your take-home pay goes to Financial Priorities, which are the goals that are essential to a strong financial
foundation. These include your retirement contributions, savings contributions and debt payments, if you have debt.
3. Lifestyle Choices
No more than 30% of your take-home pay should go to
Lifestyle Choices, which are personal, voluntary and often
fun choices about how you spend your discretionary income.
They often include cable, internet and phone plans, charitable
giving, childcare, entertainment, gym fees, hobbies, pets,
personal care, restaurants, bars, shopping, etc.
D. I enjoy saving large amounts of money and spend a lot of time and energy While Lifestyle Choices are the last things you should buy in
thinking about how to save more.
your budget, you should never feel guilty … as long as you’ve
E. I save only for absolute necessities.
taken care of your Essential Expenses and Financial Priorities
first.
Your Budgeting Personality Type
Budgeting Tools
The letter you answered with the most is your personality.
how much you spend.
A. Spender
•
•
If you are a spender, you enjoy
using your money to buy yourself
goods and services for your immediate pleasure.
The odds are that you have a hard
time saving money and prioritizing
the things you’d like in your life.
Budgeting Tips
•
•
Budgeting Tips
•
•
By simply tracking their spending,
most spenders are amazed at their
spending patterns. Use a spending
plan app, like mint.com, to help
you easily see where your money
is going.
Prioritize your spending. It’s okay
to spend money on fun stuff. Just
make sure you’re also spending
money on important things, like
saving for a car or a study abroad
trip.
•
You like to save money. You also
like to prioritize your financial
goals.
You probably have a budget and
may enjoy the processes of making up a budget and reviewing it
periodically.
Budgeting Tips
•
•
•
•
C. Avoider
•
•
You have a hard time balancing
your checkbook, paying your bills
promptly, and doing your taxes
until the very last minute.
You don’t know how much money
you have, how much you owe, or
You are happiest when you have
large amounts of money at your
disposal to spend, to save, and/or
to invest.
If you are not actually spending,
saving, or investing, you may feel
empty or not fully alive. You tend
to equate money with self-worth
and power, so a lack of money may
lead to feelings of failure.
Budgeting Tips
•
Remember that money isn’t everything. You true worth is the sum
of your intangible assets - your
talents, skills, personality.
•
Many amassers work many hours
to have extra money to spend.
However, when in college, it’s
important to consider being a
student as your main job. If your
job is getting in the way of your
schoolwork, sit down and see how
much money you really need to live
on each month and work enough
hours to cover these expenses. If
you concentrate on school now,
odds are you will be able to get
a better job after college and live
well throughout your life.
Know it’s okay to spend some of
your money to enjoy life. Add an
entertainment category to your
budget. Many hoarders also have
a hard time buying gifts for others. Add a gift category to your
budget. Know gifts don’t have to
be extravagant - it’s the thought
that counts.
Hoarders have a hard time investing their money, but in order to create real wealth, investing is usually
necessary. Add an investing/savings category to your budget. Start
with conservative investments,
like Certificates of Deposit, then
move up to balanced mutual funds,
which are collections of stocks
and bonds that are managed by a
professional.
Think of money as a tool to help
you get what you want out of life,
such as graduating debt-free or
buying a house. Money isn’t scary
- it will help you build your dream
life.
D. Amasser
B. Hoarder
•
Get some help getting your financial life organized and creating
a spending plan by setting up an
appointment at the Student Money
Management Center.
E. Money Monk
•
•
You think that money is dirty, that
it is bad, and that if you have too
much of it, it will corrupt you.
In general, you believe that “money
is the root of all evil.”
Budgeting Tips
•
•
Everyone needs to manage their
money well in order to support
themselves.
Add a charity category to your
budget. You can use your money
as a tool to help better the world.
Notebook
Method
Write down
income & expenses as they occur
Excel
Spreadsheets
Fill in numbers and
have automatic
calculations
Mint.com
App
A free tool that
links to your
accounts
Bank
Tools
See what your
bank offers,
including apps
How Budgeting Saves Students Money
See how one student used a budget to get organized & save.
Current Savings Balance
$0
Income
Job #1 - 20 hrs./week - Less Taxes
Pull from Scholarships/Savings
TOTAL
$ 640
$300
$940
Expenses
Rent
Utilities
Internet
Cable
$320
$45
$20
$20
Cell phone
Food - Groceries
Food - Eating Out
Entertainment
Personal care
Gas
Clothing
$45
$120
$100
$80
$50
$60
$60
Laundry
TOTAL
TOTAL LEFT
$10
$930
$10
Cut eating out expenses
and starting cooking
more - Used coupons at
grocery store
Saved = $70
Cut cable & got Netflix
and cut entertainment
expenses by going to
free UNL events
Saved = $70
Cut clothing costs by
investing in one quality
item per month
Saved = $30
Cut gas costs by taking
the bus and carpooling
Saved = $20
Total Saved = $190 Used to:
Put in fund for emergencies, like car repairs or
emergency trips
Save for a plane ticket
to visit family in
New York
Save for next month’s
rent & work 5 less hours
during finals week
$40
$100
$50
Saving Money on Eating Out
Show Your NCard to Get
Student Discounts.
Ex: Juice Stop, Qdoba, Valentino’s
Skip the Soda.
Eat Lunch, Not Dinner.
Water is free and
Dinner menus are usually
much more healthy! more expensive.
Follow these tips & save: $780 per year
Saving Money on Snacks
Bulk Up. Be on the lookout for store sales on
non-perishable snacks. Then get a coupon from
the company who makes the snacks (join their
Facebook page!) and, BAM, double savings!
Store Sale + Coupon = Double Savings!
Best Prices = Dollar General
Follow these tips & save: $220 per year
www.unl.edu/smmc
Income
Expenses
TOTAL
Suggestions
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TOTAL
NOW USE, REVISE, START AGAIN!