Spending Plans

Not sure how to budget your money? Spending plans can help you keep track of all your purchases and assist you in planning out expenses in advance. So, next time you're feeling lost and unsure of how, when, how much money to spend, look no further. Spending Plans: Lesson 4 will provide you with the resources to create your own spending plans for multiple occasions.

Participants Will:

  • Review the concepts of needs versus wants.
  • Understand the difference between fixed and flexible expenses.
  • Identify occasional expenses that do not occur monthly.
  • Create a spending plan from tracked expenses based on a case study.
  • Learn the process of determining where the money goes.
  • Demonstrate how to rearrange expenses to balance a spending plan.
  • Create a spending plan based on recent expenses.
  • Revise spending plans based on actual expenses.
  • Create a spending plan for a special event.
  • Understand that spending plans for special events are to be incorporated into overall spending plans.

Key Features:

  • Learn to create custom spending plans for different occasions.
  • Explore the process of identifying important expenses.
  • Customize activities fit to either a 30 or 60 minute timeframe.
  • Easily add more resources by replicating included master copies.

Activities Included:

  1. Review of Pre-Spending Plan Concepts
  2. Fixed, Flexible, and Occasional Expenses
  3. Case Study
  4. Create your own Spending Plan
  5. What if my plan doesn't balance?
  6. Spending Plans for Special Events
  7. Wrap-up and Evaluation

What you'll need from the Resource Box:

  • Category Cards—one set for each group of 3 to 5 participants

  • Optional: Envelope Budgeting Steps Card from Lesson 2

Additional Materials (not included):

 *= optional items

  • Pen or pencil for each participant

  • Scratch paper/ calculators (or apps); Optional: easel paper and markers, highlighters

  • Participants’ individual tracked expenses from Lesson 2

  • From Activity #4: Completed Monthly Spending Plan worksheet Spending Plan Checklist

Spending plans are never perfect, but using one helps you notice if some expenses are more than expected. Then you can make adjustments in other areas and keep your total spending on track.