They say money can’t buy happiness, but financial wellness is certain to help you achieve Uncommon Freedom™! We can’t wait to share some of the basic financial tips that helped us go from scrounging to thriving.

We have a whole set of financial wellness tools lined up to share with you in the weeks to come, and a blog already published on Healthy Finances & a Happy Marriage, but today we’re sharing three super simple worksheets to help you get started!

Monthly Budget Worksheet

Some people assume that budgeting is only necessary when you’re short on cash, (anyone else ever have to decide between groceries and gas?!) but that is definitely not the case. This worksheet will help you break down your expenses by category and track the difference between your estimated and actual monthly spending. From there you’ll be in a great position to track how well you stuck to your budget – and enable you to plan for the months to come!

Debt Overview

Debt is not a fun topic, but paying off debt is an AWESOME goal! The relief and sense of accomplishment you will feel when you’re debt free, is unparalleled. The first step to managing and paying down your debt is a general assessment of what you’ll be working with. Bite the bullet and collect the exact amount you owe for each credit card, car loan, mortgage, etc. This will set you up to hit the ground running when we share our top debt payoff strategies in the coming weeks!

Large Expense Planner

One pitfall of monthly budgets is those pesky big expenses that can sneak up on you. One way to avoid that surprise property tax bill or twelve month car insurance payment is to calendar their due dates. To avoid scrambling for cash at the last minute (and a big hit to your bank account) we recommend saving for the expense little by little over time. That’s where this printable comes in handy!

BONUS!

Finally, here’s one last tip for you before we go: involve the kids! No matter how financially savvy you are, if you have children, you will be doing them an enormous favor by getting them involved in managing finances early. We’ll be developing a full blog on this topic, but in the meantime, here are three ways we do that in our household:

1. Balancing the books with dad
2. Paying their own way
3. Regularly making charitable donations

Keep an eye out for our upcoming Finances for Kids blog – and get in touch with us for more tips & tricks for financial wellness!