Notional Budget With Spreadsheet

Initial comment: 

At some points in your life, when there are a lot of changes, maintaining a budget is very, very difficult. 

Example: in the USAF, whenever we moved to a new location it generally took me two years to get back to where I was financially before the move. 

Transitions make budget-keeping difficult. In many cases, the best you can do is keep track of your expenses which will help you in many ways going forward. Examples when budget keeping is very, very difficult:

• each year in college; summer jobs change; moving in and out of new dorms; books; lab fees;
• transitioning from college to first job;
• moving in with a new longer roommate (significant other)
• moving from one job to a new job;
• a major life change: marriage or marriage-equivalency; birth of a child;

Items missing from the notional spreadsheet below:

• subscriptions to newspapers, magazines, etc
• recurring annual fees for apps
• some apps exist that make it easy to cancel subscriptions (e.g., Roadrunner) 

The notional filing system associated with this spreadsheet is linked here.

Notional Budget spreadsheet:

NOTIONAL BUDGET	NOTIONAL BUDGET	%	%	%	%
Income		100
	Source 1
	Source 2
	Source 3
Must-Pays			40
(Not all inclusive)
	Taxes
	Rent
	Medical
	Utilities
	Groceries
	Transportation
	Insurance
	Basic cable
Nice-to-have			20
(Not all inclusive)
	Hulu
	Amazon Prime
	Garage / storage
	Cosco Card
	Magazines
Absolutely don’t need			5
(Not all inclusive)
	Vacation
	Lego
	New iPhone
	New computer
	Dining out
	Alcohol
	Books
Discretionary			Equals income - expenses above	35
	Personal investment				0
	Arianna				7
	Olivia				7
	Sophia				7
	Judah				7
	Levi				7

Lesson Four -- BYU -- September 1, 2024 --September 7, 2024

Chapter 5 -- Credit: understanding and using it wisely: link here.   [119 of 352; page 108]. [60 minutes]

Begins on page 108 or 119 of 352.

Objectives:

• understand credit bureaus, credit scoring
• three credit bureaus; contact information here)
• learn how to "use" credit cards
• learn how credit cards work; how to manage credit
• how to protect from risks of fraud
• Action: create a rudimentary credit plan.
• Action: in your personal finance journal, list every credit card and emergency number to report fraud; make sure you provide name of bank associated with a particular credit care

Don't carry debt on your credit cards. If you start to have trouble paying your monthly bill, let your parents, grandparents know. 

Grandparents have a much friendlier interest rate, i.e. zero percent (0%).

Lesson Four -- BYU -- Credit -- August 24, 2024 -- August 31, 2024

Chapter 5 -- Credit: Understanding and Using It Wisely: link here.   [119 of 352; page 108]. [60 minutes]

Begins on page 108 or 119 of 352.

Objectives:

• understand credit bureaus, credit reports, credit scoring
• understand the correct uses of credit cards
• learn how credit cards work and how to manage credit
• understand and create your Credit Plan

Of huge importance: link here.

• credit lock: can carry a monthly fee; easy to lock, unlock;
  
• credit freeze: free; might take a bit longer to "thaw" a credit freeze.
  

Credit agencies: there are three. How to contact. Link here.

• Equifax
• Experian
• TransUnion

Lesson Three -- BYU -- Cash Management -- August 24, 2024 -- August 31, 2024

Zoom meeting: September 1, 2024

Cash management:

• record keeping, notional: link here.
• budget spreadsheet, notional: link here.
  

************************************
Chapter 4: Cash Management

Chapter 4 -- Cash Management: Making Little Things Count: link here.   [95 of 352; page 84]. [60 minutes]

From Vanguard: 

First, what is cash? Cash can take many forms, including money held in your bank account or wallet. Additionally, there are cash investments (also known as cash equivalents), which are a type of short-term investment product that earns interest.

In that sense, we define "cash" as a readily available short-term financial instrument with high liquidity, minimal or negligible market risk, and a maturity period of less than 3 months.

Back to the BYU course.

Begins on page 84 or 95 of 352.

Definition of cash management: the term “cash management” is the process of collecting and managing and investing cash for the short-term, generally savings and/or checking accounts.

Papa's takeaways / advice:

• this would be a great time to see if folks are keeping a financial journal of some sort
• the BYU course lists many, many different financial institutions
• Papa's advice: minimize number of institutions with which you deal
• move money around in that one institution: savings, checking, investing
  
• a discount broker, such as Schwab, can probably meet 90% of your needs
• in addition to a discount broker, one might consider
• local bank for checking account but absolutely not necessary: probably not advised
• college may have a "student account"
  
• a credit card not associated with the discount broker
• for now, learning how to move money around, easy access to cash, etc., more important than worrying about best yield; that will come naturally
  
• work with parents to determine amount of money you need to keep in cash / checking account
• saving accounts
  
• savings accounts are a thing of the past; do not open -- so many better options
• savings bonds are a thing of the past; do not open -- so many better options
• money market funds: a much better option for parking cash
• spaceholder
  

Objectives:

• understand the importance and principles of cash management
• know the different types of financial institutions that
• you need to spend time on each week
• you need to effectively manage your finances
• understand the different cash-management alternatives
• know how to compare them
• Actionable: create your own cash management plan

At this point, your cash management plan may be very rudimentary. It's the thought that counts. 

Spend wisely but don't be miserly. These are the best years of your life.