9780310338338 21DayFinancialFast int CS6files.faithgateway.com.s3.amazonaws.com/freemiums/21-day...9780310338338_21DayFinancialFast_int_CS6.indd 236 11/8/13 11:16 AM 237 Housing Continued

ZONDERVAN

The 21-Day Financial FastCopyright © 2010, 2013 by Michelle SingletaryPreviously published under the title The Power to Prosper

This title is also available as a Zondervan ebook. Visit www.zondervan.com/ebooks.

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530

This edition: 978-0-310-33833-8

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

The power to prosper : 21 days to financial freedom / Michelle Singletary. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-0-310-32038-8 (softcover) 1. Finance, Personal — Religious aspects — Chris tian ity. 2. Finance, Personal — Biblical teaching. I. Title.HG179.S5144 2009332.024 — dc22 2009028364

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New Inter-national Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible. Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other — except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

The 21-Day Financial Fast is a practical guide on personal finance. There are no guarantees offered in the 21-day financial fast program. Individual results will vary. Readers are cautioned to undertake the recommendations and assignments with caution, using their own judgment or after seeking professional advice from legal or financial professionals about their individual circum-stances. Additionally, certain information such as website addresses may change.

Interior design and composition: Greg Johnson/Textbook PerfectCover design: Studio GearboxCover photography: Sade Dennis

Printed in the United States of America

13 14 15 15 16 17 18 19 20 /DCI/ 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

9780310338338_21DayFinancialFast_int_CS6.indd 69780310338338_21DayFinancialFast_int_CS6.indd 6 11/8/13 11:16 AM11/8/13 11:16 AM

235

Appendix 1

Blank Budget Worksheet

Not

e: In

put y

our o

wn

figur

es in

to th

e bl

ank

field

s. In

the

seco

nd c

olum

n (%

of I

ncom

e fo

r Maj

or

Cat

egor

ies)

, rea

lly e

xam

ine

the

perc

enta

ge y

ou a

re sp

endi

ng in

eac

h m

ajor

are

a, w

hich

is b

ased

on

you

r Net

Spe

ndab

le In

com

e.

Cont

inue

d on

nex

t pag

e

INCO

ME

Pay

Peri

od 1

Pay

Peri

od 2

Pay

Peri

od 3

Pay

Peri

od 4

Pay

Peri

od 5

Mon

thly

To

tals

Wag

es/S

alar

y/Ti

ps $

$

$

Com

miss

ions

/Bon

uses

$

Soci

al S

ecur

ity/P

ensio

n/Re

tirem

ent

$

Alim

ony

$

Chi

ld S

uppo

rt $

Inte

rest

/Div

iden

d In

com

e $

Disa

bilit

y, VA

Ben

efits

$

Oth

er In

com

e $

Tota

l Gro

ss In

com

e $

$

$

$

$

$

Net

Inco

me

(Tak

e-ho

me

pay)

$ $

$


236

EXPE

NSE

SPa

y Pe

riod

1

Pay

Peri

od 2

Pa

y Pe

riod

3

Pay

Peri

od 4

Pa

y Pe

riod

5

Mon

thly

To

tals

Tota

l Gro

ss In

com

e $

$

$

$

$

$

Net

Inco

me

(Tak

e-ho

me

pay)

$

$ $

$

$

$

Tith

es (1

0% o

f Gro

ss In

com

e) $

$

$

$

$

$

Net

Spe

ndab

le In

com

e $

$

$

$

$

$

Mon

thly

Exp

ense

s $

$

$

$

$

$

Diff

eren

ce $

$ $

$

$

$

*The

info

rmat

ion

for t

his t

op b

ox (N

et S

pend

able

Inco

me

and

Mon

thly

Exp

ense

s) is

pul

led

from

the

info

rmat

ion

you’

ll in

put f

or y

our m

onth

ly e

xpen

ses.

Neg

ativ

e nu

mbe

rs (i

n pa

rent

hese

s) m

ean

you

are

spen

ding

mor

e th

an y

our n

et sp

enda

ble

inco

me.

If so

, the

n yo

u ne

ed to

redu

ce y

our e

xpen

ses,

incr

ease

you

r inc

ome,

or b

oth.

O

n th

e ot

her h

and,

if y

ou h

ave

mon

ey le

ft o

ver a

fter

pay

ing

your

exp

ense

s, us

e it

to a

ccel

erat

e pa

ying

off

debt

s and

/or t

o in

crea

se y

our s

avin

gs.

Mon

thly

Exp

ense

s Pai

d fr

om E

ach

Payc

heck

M

onth

ly

Expe

nse

Tota

l

Targ

et

Perc

enta

geA

ctua

l Pe

rcen

tage

Pay

Peri

od 1

Pa

y Pe

riod

2

Pay

Peri

od 3

Pa

y Pe

riod

4

Pay

Peri

od 5

Savi

ngs

$ $

$

$

$

$

2-10

%7%

Emer

genc

y Sa

ving

s

$

Life

Hap

pens

Sav

ings

Fun

d

$

Retir

emen

t Sav

ings

$

Col

lege

Sav

ings

$


237

Cont

inue

d on

nex

t pag

e

Hou

sing

$ $

$

$

$

$

26

-36%

34%

Mor

tgag

e/Re

nt $

Hom

e Eq

uity

Loa

n or

Lin

e of

Cre

dit (

HEL

OC

) $

Prop

erty

Tax

$

Hom

e O

wne

rs’/C

ondo

Ass

ocia

tion

Due

s/Fe

es $

Hom

eow

ner’s

/Ren

ter’s

Insu

ranc

e $

Util

ities

$

$

$

$

$

$4-

8%14

%

Elec

tric

ity $

Nat

ural

Gas

/Oil

$

Wat

er/S

ewer

$

Phon

e (la

ndlin

e) $

Cel

l Pho

ne $

Cab

le T

V, In

tern

et se

rvic

e $

Food

$

$ $

$

$

$

12

-30%

17%

Gro

cerie

s $

Mea

ls O

ut $

Wor

kpla

ce lu

nch,

snac

ks $

Scho

ol lu

nch,

snac

ks $


238

Fam

ily O

blig

atio

ns $

$

$

$

$

$

6-

16%

0%

Chi

ld S

uppo

rt $

Alim

ony

$

Chi

ldca

re $

Priv

ate

scho

ol tu

ition

$

Mus

ic/S

port

s Les

sons

$

Nur

sing

Hom

e/H

ealth

Aid

/Sen

ior C

are

$

Tran

spor

tatio

n $

$ $

$

$

$

6-

15%

15%

Aut

o Pa

ymen

ts $

Gas

olin

e

$

Aut

o In

sura

nce

$

Publ

ic tr

ansp

orta

tion/

park

ing

$

Insu

ranc

e (if

not

ded

ucte

d fr

om p

ay)

$

$

$

$

$

$

4%0%

Med

ical

$

Den

tal/V

ision

$

Life

$

Disa

bilit

y $


239

Hea

lth E

xpen

ses

$

$

$

$

$

$

4%0%

Med

ical

/den

tal c

opay

s/Ex

pens

es $

Med

icat

ions

$

Med

ical

Sup

plie

s $

Deb

t Pay

men

ts $

$

$

$

$5-

10%

10%

Cre

dit C

ards

$

Stud

ent L

oans

$

Pers

onal

/401

k Lo

ans

$

Giv

ing

$

$

$

$

$

$

0%

Cha

ritab

le G

ivin

g (re

ligio

us, p

rivat

e ch

arity

) $

Fees

$

$

$

$

$

$

0%

Bank

/Cre

dit U

nion

Acc

ount

Fee

s $

Prof

essio

nal S

ervi

ces F

ees

$

Clot

hing

$

$

$

$

$

$

4-6%

0%

Clo

thin

g (fa

mily

) $

Uni

form

s, ac

cess

orie

s for

wor

k $

Cont

inue

d on

nex

t pag

e


240

Ente

rtai

nmen

t/Re

crea

tion

$

$ $

$

$

$

2-8%

3%

Ente

rtai

nmen

t/A

ctiv

ities

$ $

Subs

crip

tions

/Due

s $

Fitn

ess /

Spa

$

Pets

$

$

$

$

$

$

0%

Food

, gro

omin

g, e

tc.

$

Vete

rinar

ian,

pet

insu

ranc

e $

Mis

cella

neou

s $

$

$

$

$

$

0%

Toile

trie

s/C

osm

etic

s/gr

oom

ing

$

Prof

essio

nal M

embe

rshi

p D

ues/

Fees

$

Oth

er $

Inve

stm

ents

$

$

$

$

$

$

0%

Stoc

ks, B

onds

, CD

s, M

utua

l Fun

ds $

IRA

s/Re

tirem

ent

$

Seco

nd P

rope

rty

Expe

nses

$


241

Appendix 2

What’s Next: Starting Your 30-Day Spending Journal

Now that the fast is over, I want you to incorporate what you have learned into your daily life. And that can begin by tracking your spending.

Get a small notebook that you can easily carry with you. For the next thirty days, write down all the money you spend and what you spent it on. Include any bills you pay (mortgage, credit card, car loan). The point of this exercise is to record every single penny that you spend. Everything gets written down, even a pack of gum or bag of chips. Copy the following columns into your notebook, or you can make a photo-copy of the chart below. Make sure to include the column identifying whether your purchase or payment was a need or a want. You can also download spending journal pages at www.michellesingletary.com.

Here’s what your journal should include:

Day/Date Expense Item Amount Spent Was this expense a need or a want?


242 21-DAY FINANCIAL FAST

Here’s an example of what a journal entry may look like on a par-ticular day:

Day/Date Expense Item Amount Spent Was this expense a need or a want?

Mon./Sept. 10 Sausage, Egg McMuffin Meal @ McDonald’s

$5.67 It was a want because I could have eaten breakfast before I left for work.

Mon./Sept. 10 Starbucks Grande Latte $3.95 Want

Mon./Sept. 10 Lunch at Subway (turkey sandwich, drink, chips)

$6.97 Need, maybe. I didn’t pack a lunch??

Mon./Sept. 10 Snack bag of UTZ from vending machine

.75 Need/want. I don’t know. I was hungry!!!

Mon./Sept. 10 Late fee (was 5 minutes late picking up my son)

$10 Not sure. I needed to pay the fee to get my kid.

Mon./Sept. 10 Dinner from Popeye’s $24.35 Okay, a want. But I was too tired to cook.

KEEPING TRACK

You won’t start the spending journal until after you have completed the 21-day fast.

Use the spending journal to record what you spend. Don’t edit or judge yourself. This exercise works best if, for the thirty days, you simply record what you do.

After thirty days, go back and look at your spending patterns and habits. Make a note of where and when you tend to get off track con-cerning budgeted expenses.

Use the information from your spending journal to make adjust-ments to your budget (which you should have in place by now, right?). For example, if you are routinely late picking up your child from school and incur additional charges for child care, you need to build that expense into your budget. Otherwise leave work earlier, or work out an arrangement with another parent to help you pick up your child on time so you can avoid late fees.


BUY NOW

The 21 Day Financial Fast by Michelle Singletary Financial Peace and Freedom in 21 Days In The 21-Day Financial Fast, award-winning writer and The Washington Post columnist Michelle Singletary proposes a field-tested financial challenge. For twenty-one days, participants will put away their credit cards and buy only the barest essentials. With Michelle’s guidance during this three-week financial fast, you will discover how to:

• Break bad spending habits • Plot a course to become debt-free with the Debt Dash

Plan • Avoid the temptation of overspending for college • Learn how to prepare elderly relatives and yourself for

future long-term care expenses • Be prepared for any contingency with a Life Happens

Fund • Stop worrying about money and find the priceless

power of financial peace As you discover practical ways to achieve financial freedom, you’ll experience what it truly means to live a life of financial peace and prosperity.

Buy The 21 Day Financial Fast Today

http://store.faithgateway.com/the-21-day-financial-fast?utm_source=fgwomen&utm_medium=pdfdownload&utm_campaign=21dayfinancialfast



Documents

9780310338338 21DayFinancialFast int CS6files.faithgateway.com.s3.amazonaws.com/freemiums/21-day...9780310338338_21DayFinancialFast_int_CS6.indd 236 11/8/13 11:16 AM 237 Housing Continued