How to use the net worth statement:

This net worth statement will give you clarity of your financial standing. It can be overwhelming to think about your checking account, savings account, emergency fund, IRA, Roth IRA, current 401(k), old 401(k) from your last company, your old 401(k) from your first job out of college, car loan, credit card, student loan…on and on and on.

By using this tool it will calm the mental whirlwind of keeping everything in your head. It will help you track progress overtime and see how your daily actions impact your long term financial goals.

How to use the budget template:

This template is split in 2 categories, needs and wants. The way we use this with clients is to view this as a planning tool, these numbers represent what a “normal” month would look like for your household. Do your best to fill in all the areas that you can think of. If you have expenses that come up every quarter, twice a year, or annually that always seem to catch you off guard, consider taking a look at the “Periodic Expenses” template below.

Once you have completed filling in your categories take a look at you “Left over” amount. This represents the money that is up for grabs each month. It’s surprising how often clients live paycheck to paycheck and after filling in their budget with everything they can imagine there is a significant amount of money “left over”. What does this tell us? We are probably spending money on things that aren’t bringing us much value. This is a good reminder to focus your spending on things you care about and bring true value and cut out the rest.

Now that you have a picture of what your spending looks like every month it’s time to actually stick to it. We recommend that our clients use Mint to track expenses. You can get as detailed as you would like for this part. Categorize everything down to each particular line item from the budget or focus on 2 number, needs and wants. The best budget is the one you stick to, try different things and see what works.