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Set Up a Spending Plan

You are now ready to establish your Spending Plan. Try the free OKMM Budgeting Calculator to help.

Begin by categorizing your monthly responsibilities and expenses that you discovered on the expense tracker. Some categories typical for many consumers are already listed but this can be customized for your particular financial situation.

Take your own Monthly Expense Form and your Debt Listing and complete the Budget Calculator with all of your own expenses and debts listed.

Using the Budget Calculator, you can project out for a period of time and begin to see how you can make progress on debts, adjust for periodic expenses or expenses you were not anticipating at all, and also have a comprehensive quick look at your finances at any point in time.

Over the months, you will begin to build a great form of documentation for all of your financial activities that relate to personal spending and planning. Add one more step and you will virtually always feel in control of YOUR MONEY.

When a bill arrives, track the amount of the payment due in your Budget Calculator and then place it in your Money Management file. You will have a quick and ready reference for amounts and dates due for bills rather than continually rummaging through a pile of envelopes and papers.

For expenses for which you do not actually receive a bill, list or estimate those amounts approximately one month ahead of time and you will begin to know what to anticipate as you manage the real flow of YOUR MONEY.

What if a totally unexpected expense comes up? Often a car repair or doctor bill can seem to throw you off completely. Never fear...you are now able to look ahead and anticipate the effect paying for that expense by cash or credit will have on your budget. As you become more accustomed to relying on this form, you will learn what risks you can and cannot take and still maintain the money flow that works effectively for you.

Good luck with this final step in YOUR MONEY planning! Reaching this step successfully and gaining confidence in using the Budget Calculator will make a huge difference in how you feel about YOUR MONEY!

Visit OklahomaMoneyMatters.org to learn more about budgeting.

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OCAP believes that financial literacy and understanding the financial aid process are critical aspects of college planning and student success. OCAP staff who work with students, parents, educators and community partners in the areas of personal finance education, state and federal financial aid, and student loan management do not provide financial, investment, legal, and/or tax advice. This website and all information provided is for general educational purposes only, and is not intended to be construed as financial, investment, legal, and/or tax advice.