BUDGETING ON AN AMERICORPS LIVINGMAKING AN INVESTMENT IN YOUR COMMUNITYPRESENTED BY: KATIE BRICKMAN

I’m in the same situation as you and today I plan on showing you how to budget your money and still be able to do the things that you’d like to! I am working with AmeriCorps teaching financial literacy. Hopefully the tips I give you will stay with you for the rest of your life not just though your AmeriCorps commitment.

I’m so broke I can’t afford to give you my two cents…

What’s Your Movie?Directions: think of the title of a movie that you think relates to money. If you can’t think of a real one, make one up!Everyone will share their movie with our group and explain why.Examples: Gone With the Wind, Gone in 60 seconds, etc.

Ice Breaker

vol·un·teer

   [vol-uhn-teer] a person who performs a service willingly and with little or no pay

You are an AmeriCorps Volunteer

Click icon to add picture

What is the Living Stipend?

NOT WAGES! Not tied to hours, evenly distributed over 12 months.

Meant to be enough for one person to get by, not a sustainable or family-supporting income.

Work is an option to supplement income as long as it doesn’t interfere with your service.

$11,800 / 12 = $983.33 per month $6,247 for part time over 49 weeks

A Second JOB

JOB= Just Over Broke AmeriCorps is a great opportunity to help

your résumé out for future employment, but lets face it some of us may need a little extra financial help.

A second job may offer enough pay for extra luxuries Have kids? Don’t have time go to a second job?

Check out flexjobs.com it is a pay site that will have opportunities to work out of your home at your own hours!

Some people go over their budgets very carefully every month; others just go over them.

What is Budgeting?

A budget tells us what we can't afford, but it doesn't keep us from buying it.

budg·et [buhj-it] Show IPA noun, adjective, verb, –noun 1. an estimate, often itemized, of expected income and

expense for a given period in the future. 2. a plan of operations based on such an estimate. 3. an itemized allotment of funds, time, etc., for a given period. 4. the total sum of money set aside or needed for a purpose: the

construction budget. 5. a limited stock or supply of something: his budget of goodwill. 6. Obsolete . a small bag; pouch.

–adjective 7. reasonably or cheaply priced: budget dresses. –verb (used with object) 8. to plan allotment of (funds, time, etc.).

9. to deal with (specific funds) in a budget. –verb (used without object) 10. to subsist on or live within a

budget.

Directions: think back 24 hours. What have you done during that time? More importantly, how much money did you spend? Take a moment to write down EVERY CENT you spent during that 24 hours! Discussion: Was it easy to recall what you spent?Do you think you remembered everything?How difficult is it to remember a week ago?How does this relate to developing a spending plan or budget?

24 Hour Recall

How Do You Create a Budget? Record all of your sources of income. If you are self-employed

or have any outside sources of income be sure to record these as well. If your income is in the form of a regular paycheck where taxes are automatically deducted then using the net income, or take home pay, amount is fine. Record this total income as a monthly amount.

Gather every financial statement you can. This includes bank statements, investment accounts, recent utility bills and any information regarding a source of income or expense. The key for this process is to create a monthly average so the more information you can dig up the better.

Create a list of monthly expenses. Write down a list of all the expected expenses you plan on incurring over the course of a month. This includes a mortgage payment, car payments, auto insurance, groceries, utilities, entertainment, dry cleaning, auto insurance, retirement or college savings and essentially everything you spend money on.

Creating a Budget

Break expenses into two categories: fixed and variable. Fixed expenses are those that stay relatively the same each month and are required parts of your way of living. They included expenses such as your mortgage or rent, car payments, cable and/or internet service, trash pickup, credit card payments and so on. These expenses for the most part are essential yet not likely to change in the budget.

Variable expenses are the type that will change from month to month and include items such as groceries, gasoline, entertainment, eating out and gifts to name a few. This category will be important when making adjustments.

Total your monthly income and monthly expenses. If your end result shows more income than expenses you are off to a good start. This means you can prioritize this excess to areas of your budget such as retirement savings or paying more on credit cards to eliminate that debt faster. If you are showing a higher expense column than income it means some changes will have to be made.

Make adjustments to expenses. If you have accurately identified and listed all of your expenses the ultimate goal would be to have your income and expense columns to be equal. This means all of your income is accounted for and budgeted for a specific expense.

If you are in a situation where expenses are higher than income you should look at your variable expenses to find areas to cut. Since these expenses are typically essential it should be easy to shave a few dollars in a few areas to bring you closer to your income.

Don’t Forget…

Review your budget monthly. It is important to review your budget on a regular basis to make sure you are staying on track. After the first month take a minute to sit down and compare the actual expenses versus what you had created in the budget. This will show you where you did well and where you may need to improve.

Why is money called dough?

Because we knead it….

Tips

Do little things to save money!

Do you need to get your clothes dry cleaned or can you wash it yourself?

If you don’t have a washer and dryer do you have friends or parents that would allow you to use their washing and drying machine?

Mother had decided to trim her household budget wherever possible, so instead of having a dress dry-cleaned she washed it by hand. Proud of her savings, she boasted to my father, "Just think, Fred, we are five dollars richer because I washed this dress by hand."

"Good," my dad quickly replied. "Wash it again!"

A little goes a long way… (more tips)

How can a can you double your money? By folding it in half.

Look at your budget sheet… are you way over your stipend living allowance and other forms of income? If so is it possible to look for a less

expensive place to live? Can you save money on gas, or give up

a car altogether? If your family has multiple cars, can you bring it down to one? Can you get a better price on insurance?

Call around and make sure you are getting the best price you can. Consider taking a higher deductible, too.

&& More Tips =)

Shop the discount racks at clothing stores. Items on clearance are marked down considerably and could save you 50% of the price.

Can you drop a land line and either only use your cell phone or save money by calling over the internet for free with services such as Skype?

Can you live without cable or satellite TV? Can you cut down on your utility bills? Can you restrict eating out? Buy food in bulk?

Start using coupons? Cook more at home? You might be able to save a lot of money when grocery shopping.

Try not to use credit unless you can pay off your bill month to month! Interest rates can get you into more trouble than you’re in.

Credit

Any questions?

Many Thanks To:

Our generous funders: Ohio Community Service Council Corporation for National and Community

Service The Literacy Cooperative of Greater

Cleveland The Cleveland Foundation KeyBank Foundation Underwritten by Charter One Foundation