Month 1 (August 2013)
Welcome
to the financial preparedness section! Eight months from now you will
have in place a concrete financial plan to be out of debt, have
savings and have basic legal documents in place to safeguard your
assets for your family. Plus, you will better understand your income
and spending habits, create and live within a budget, and allow and
prepare for financial goals and dreams.
The
LDS Church 2010 booklet, called The Family Finances
Workshop: Participant's Guide, takes you through the
process of financial preparedness step by step. It's available to
order for $3.50 from church distribution (click
here), or it's available in free digital format to view online or
print (click
here). This month, read the Introduction and complete Steps 1
and 2. That means you'll calculate the amount of your income that's
“spendable,” and calculate what you've spent over the last few
months. The booklet suggests you look at the last 12 months (which
is a great way to see what you spend for, say, Christmas as compared
to a normal month). Not everyone will have access to a record of
their spending habits for that period of time. If not, calculate
what you spent in the last 3 months. If not that, begin keeping
track right now of what you spend day to day. There are detailed
instructions for this in Step 4 of the booklet.
SUMMARY:
*Read Introduction and Complete Steps 1 and 2 from The Family Finance Workshop
*Read Introduction and Complete Steps 1 and 2 from The Family Finance Workshop
*Review
the pamphlets “All Is Safely Gathered In: Family Finances” and
“One for the Money”
*Save
$11 per person for your year’s food storage supply
*For 3-month storage: buy 1 week of everyday foods
*For 3-month storage: buy 1 week of everyday foods
Month
2 (September 2013)
This
month you get to set your budget! Complete Step 3 (page 9) in The
Family Finance Workshop and you gain the power to decide the
financial outcome for you or your family. This will pay off big –
it's an education only you can give yourself in how you spend your
money. then with full knowledge you can act and not be acted upon –
you decide (instead of letting advertising media or others decide)
what you can and can't afford and what you do and do not need.
Realize
that you will make adjustments as you figure out exactly what will
work for you. For example you may want to spend $2 per month for
cleaning supplies only to discover that you really need $4 per month.
Experimenting and figuring it out as you go is okay.
Make
sure you budget in that $11 per month for food storage – a little
can do a lot in two years! Even after you acquire all the food
storage you need, keep that pattern of saving to accomplish whatever
meaningful ends you can dream up.
You have completed your 3-month storage. Hooray! Maintain it by replacing what you use (which should be easy because they are foods you normally eat!).
You have completed your 3-month storage. Hooray! Maintain it by replacing what you use (which should be easy because they are foods you normally eat!).
*Complete
Step 3 from The
Family Finance Workshop
*Your ward specialist may schedule a ward cannery trip, or you are
welcome do so individually or with a small group of friends.
Schedule your visit for 2 months from now.
*Save
$11 per person for your year’s food storage supply
*For 3-month storage: buy 1 week of everyday foods
*For 3-month storage: buy 1 week of everyday foods
Month
3 (October 2013)
This
month you'll begin recording your expenditures to help you keep track
of what you're currently spending (which in turn helps you keep to
your budget in real time) by completing Step 4 in The Family
Finance Workshop. The booklet suggests you use something called
a spending register to keep track of your expenditures: this is
available to order for $0.40 from church distribution (click
here) or you can use regular paper or a computer spreadsheet to
keep track instead.
Begin
Step 5 – this step asks you to make sure your total spending, and
the bank's record of withdrawals from your account match up. This
will be an ongoing process as you learn to budget and point your
spending toward worthwhile goals.
*Complete
Step 4 and begin Step 5 in The
Family Finance Workshop
*Save
$11 per person for your year’s food storage supply
Month
4 (November 2013)
It's
now time to eliminate your debt, or at least make a concrete,
month-by-month plan to do so. Complete Steps 8 through 11 (under
“Eliminate and Avoid Debt”) in The Family Finance Workshop
booklet. (We're switching the order of Steps in November and December to give you more time in December to celebrate the holidays.) If you have a large amount of debt, this can seem like a
daunting task, like it will take forever. The booklet shows you how
you actually can conquer debt, payment by payment. It will
take some faith and perhaps some real sacrifice, but once you are
debt-free, the relief and freedom you feel will be worth it and you
will have become stronger for it. Read “Peter's 'Power Down'
Story” in Appendix E of the finance booklet. It is truly
inspirational and will increase your hope that you too can be free
from debt.
*Complete
Steps 8 through 11 in The
Family Finance Workshop and read Appendix E
*Save
$11 per person for your year’s food storage supply
Month
5 (December 2013)
Incorporate
savings into your budget this month by completing Steps 6 and 7
(under “Build a Reserve”) in The Family Finance Workshop
booklet. Start saving any amount - you'll see it add up over
time (as you're seeing just $11 per month do in this preparedness plan!).
You
will also visit the cannery this month and get two months of food storage per
person. Your ward specialist may have
organized a ward cannery trip to save on money and canning time. You
are now 5/6th of the way toward your goal of having a year supply of
food!
*Compete
Steps 6 and 7 in The
Family Finance Workshop
*Save
$11 per person for your year’s food storage supply (use this trip)
*Visit
the cannery and get 2 months worth of food storage
Month
6 (January 2014)
This
month you get to consider and set financial goals. Where would you
like to be financially in 2 years? 10 years? 40 years? Creating a
Financial Action Plan by completing Step 12 in The Family Finance
Workshop booklet gives you the power to prioritize where you
spend your money. You won't let your financial state just “happen”
to you with only a vague notion of future goals, you will decide your
financial fate and make it the culmination of careful planning.
*Complete
Step 12 in The
Family Finance Workshop
*
Your ward specialist may schedule a ward cannery trip, or you are
welcome do so individually or with a small group of friends. If
you are planning to can food, schedule your next cannery appointment
for 2 months from now.
*Save
$11 per person for your year’s food storage supply
Month
7 (February 2014)
Now
that you have your budget and plans to become financially
self-reliant, there are a few more considerations to becoming legally
prepared. The following documents are recommended to protect yourself
and your loved ones should emergencies, injury or accident happen:
Durable Power of Attorney, Health Care Proxy, Simple Will, and
Declaration of Homestead. These sometimes differ state to state so if
you have moved since you created these documents, or if you plan on
moving, you'll need to make sure they are acceptable in your new
state. You can either have an attorney prepare these for you or, if
your finances are very simple, you can search online for free
fill-in-the-blank versions to use. Make sure you include copies of
these documents in your emergency kit.
*Read
attached information on legal documentation and then create your
legal documents (put copies of them in your emergency kit)
*Save
$11 per person for your year’s food storage supply
See
“EstatePlanning.doc” in the “Financial Preparedness” section
at the Two
Year Preparedness Plan Documents Website.
Month
8 (March 2014)
You're
almost there! Just a couple things to wrap up. First, go through your
emergency kits: replace any food or medication that has expired and
replace old batteries if necessary. This is something you will want
to do every 6 months or so (General Conference serves as a great
reminder). Use this time to replace the batteries in your smoke and
carbon monoxide detectors.
You
will visit the cannery this month for the last time and get 2 months
of food per person. Continue saving $11 per person per month or
reallocate it toward some of your financial goals!
After two years of consistent effort you are now prepared in the way the prophets have counseled. You have food storage – 3
months of everyday foods and a year of long term storage. You know
where to get more should you use some, or should your family
situation change. You have a complete emergency kit (and one for your
car). You have emergency plans in place. You have a budget and a
financial action plan. You have the necessary legal documents. Congratulations!
*Refresh
your emergency kit
*Visit
the cannery and get 2 months worth of food storage
*Save
$11 per person for your year’s food storage supply (use this trip)
