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Having the latest reader is the best way to view and print the following forms. It's FREE! Just click on the icon and then download the free program before accessing any of the Portable Document Format (PDF) files.
The worksheets provided on this site are tools intended to help you in your personal stewardship and the management of the resources God has entrusted to you. Click on the worksheet name to view the worksheet itself or click on “about this worksheet” to get more information and instructions. You will also find additional information that will help you in completing these worksheets by visiting the financial topics: Relationships & Money, Budgeting, Debt Management, and Retirement Planning.
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The Getting Organized worksheets include just that – worksheets to help you organize your records and financial details. The information you include on these worksheets can be invaluable to you and in the event that someone else must take care of your affairs on your behalf.
This form provides indispensable information for you, your financial planner, and your heirs. This form should be reviewed once per year or whenever there are significant changes.
This form provides indispensable information for you, your financial planner, and your heirs (particularly your personal representative – formerly know as the executor of your estate.) This form should be reviewed once per year or whenever there are significant changes.
The Credit Card Record should be completed as soon as possible and kept updated at all times. It will help protect you against fraud and identity theft in the event that your wallet/purse is lost or stolen. It also includes information at the bottom on steps to take in the event of a loss or theft.
This worksheet provides a checklist for determining the person who will be
responsible for each financial obligation. This form will be particularly helpful for those just getting started, who have never talked about these issues before, or if it has just been a while.
Record of Phone Calls
This form is a good place to keep track of phone calls to companies with which you do business. It’s a good idea to record the name of the person you spoke with, the person’s ID number or direct extension, the date/time of the call, and content of the conversation, including any decisions that were made or actions that were promised. This record will help during a move or anytime you are conducting business over the phone.
Move Record
This worksheet will help you get the financial details of your move organized, including such things as shutting off utilities at the old place and starting them at the new place, having addresses changed, etc. It will also help you make sure that bills/payments aren’t missed during the move.
Moving Checklist
This worksheet provides a checklist for determining the person who will be
responsible for each aspect of a move.
The Basics worksheets are those that we consider to be the essential foundation of any solid financial management plan. The three KEY worksheets – Net Worth Statement, Income Statement, and Budget – will be completed on a regular basis throughout your life. You’ll get really good at them! Before using the Basics worksheets, consider checking out the information in the financial topics: Relationships & Money and Budgeting.
Net Worth is, simply, the difference between what you own and what you owe. It is also known as a Balance Sheet. The Net Worth can be determined by subtracting the liabilities (what you owe) from the assets (what you own).
The column marked "Market Value" means that you note how much it is worth, based on reports or professional appraisals. For items such as checking/savings accounts, annuities, etc., there is an exact number. It can be found on the latest report from the bank or company. For items such as residence and personal property, you will have to make an educated guess or have a professional appraisal done.
The column marked "Who owns/owes it" should be filled in either with your initials, your spouse's initials, or both if you own/owe it jointly.
You will most likely not have entries for every item listed under the assets (if you do, we want to talk to you!). The list is meant to be comprehensive so nothing is missed. Be careful with the Market Value of collectibles - remember that what is a collectible of value to you may not have value to someone else.
Under the liabilities, use the totals from the Loan/Credit Card Schedules. Keep in mind that outstanding bills/taxes are those that you haven't paid for previous months/years - past due amounts. For more information on credit cards and other debt, see the Debt Management financial topic.
When calculating your Net Worth, consider excluding retirement and sentimental assets to give you a more realistic picture of what your situation would be like. This form should be completed once per year or more often if there are significant changes.
This worksheet provides information about where your money comes from and where it goes. The expense portion lumps many categories together on purpose - to help you determine categories of spending. Pay particular attention to the Casual spending amount. The Casual category has that name because most people think about cash and ATM withdrawals casually. If there is one area where almost everyone can make an immediate improvement in their financial situation it is in controlling where the cash is spent. This may mean writing down every cash purchase in a small notebook, or simply not carrying cash. Explore what works for you so that you know where the money is being spent. This worksheet should probably be completed once per year, or more often if there are significant changes.
The budget is one of the most misunderstood documents. It is usually thought of as restrictive, but it should be seen simply as a tool. It's how money is handled, and how decisions are made, on a monthly basis. A budget helps ensure that your spending is in line with your pre-determined priorities. It is also flexible and should adapt to your changing situation.
At the beginning of the month, indicate in the "Amount Agreed to Spend" column the budgeted amounts. At the end of the month look at the budget again and enter, into the column marked "Amount Actually Spent," the total of your expenditures for that month. In the column marked "Difference" simply subtract the amount you spent from the amount you budgeted. The ultimate goal is that the Total Difference is equal to "0." This means that if you overspend in one area, you compensate by underspending in one or more other areas.
As you are completing the budget, remember to include bills/expenses that are due other than monthly (a quarterly payment or Christmas, for example). Set aside an appropriate amount each month, in essence, to save for when those bills are due.
If you have never completed a budget before, or if it has been a long time, consider using the Cash Expense Summary to arrive at a more accurate budget.
This is probably the most critical of all the worksheets in terms of the need for accuracy. It is a way for you to review your past six months of spending in order to establish a realistic budget. Remember that the information you get from this worksheet is only as good as the information you put into it, so be honest. Also remember to include items that are not due monthly – any bills due quarterly or every six months, and especially Christmas. Consider completing the Cash Expense Summary for the past 12 months to be even more accurate.
If you pay for clothing, gas, or another specific expense with a credit card, use only the specific expense category. The credit card line is to report how much you are paying if you are carrying a balance on the account.
The Social Style Behavior Profile is meant to provide an idea about the tendencies
individuals exhibit in their attitudes about, and management of, money. It is not a comprehensive personality inventory, nor is it definitive. As in most cases, excess in any one area could indicate a problem, but most people typically operate in the center and exhibit traits of more than one social style. It is intended to help you and the person with whom you make financial decisions understand one another’s attitudes, perceptions, and motivations. Consider completing this inventory about yourself and about your partner (and vice versa). For more information and descriptions of each Social Style, visit the Relationships & Money financial topic.
Before using these debt management worksheets, consider checking out the information in the Debt Managment financial topic.
The Debt Management worksheets are designed to help you get, and maintain, control over your credit cards and other debt. The Cascade Method of Debt Reduction has been created to help you attack your debt. The basic concept is to determine a total amount you can put toward paying off your debt each month (the largest amount possible) and to continue paying that total amount each month until your debt is gone. Think of a waterfall. As you pay off the creditor to whom you owe the smallest balance, you take the amount you were paying to that company each month, and “cascade” it down to the creditor to whom you owed the second smallest balance (adding it to the amount you were already paying to that company). Then as that balance is paid, the amount moves down to the third, and so on. In addition to making solid progress in reducing the total amount you owe, you also have the encouragement of knowing you owe fewer and fewer creditors. Attacking your debt will not be easy, and it will require a great deal of commitment on your part; however, with perseverance you can eliminate your debt and be freed from the stress and anxiety of that burden.
** Important Notice **
Please remember that the Cascade Method of Debt Reduction is meant for comparison purposes only. It will help you see the impact you will have on your debt, and ultimately, savings, by increasing the amount you pay each month to your creditors. It is not meant to give you an exact date that balances will be paid off. For the sake of making this method easier to use, interest has not been included in the calculations. In general, it might take 2-3 months longer to finish paying each creditor to account for the interest. The exact amount of time will be determined by the total balance, interest rate, and amount of payments. Remember also that adding additional purchases to the balance will extend the amount of time it will take to finish paying the debts. The important thing to remember is that you should not give up in the middle if something happens and you get off track for a short time. If an emergency arises, you may not be able to make the full payment or you may need to add an additional purchase on credit. Remember to get back on track the next month and continue attacking the debt.
On this worksheet, installment loans (auto, student loans, etc.) should be listed in the Loan grid. Credit cards on which you carry a balance should be listed in the credit card grid (don’t list cards on which you pay the balance in full every month).
The totals from this worksheet can be used for the “debt service” categories on the Basics worksheets and to help you get started with the Cascade Method of Debt Reduction.
The Cascade Method of Debt Reduction is a plan to attack debt. Use this worksheet to help you determine the amount of payment to send to each company.
Enter the company name, balance, minimum payment, and monthly finance charge for each creditor. The creditors should be listed according to the amount of the balance due, beginning with the smallest balance. The balance, minimum payment, and finance charge amounts can all be found on your statement.
Once you have entered the above information, choose the larger of the minimum payment or finance charge (to ensure that you are at least paying the total interest that is accruing), and add 10% (to make sure that you are paying off at least some of the principal). Round to the nearest dollar (for convenience). Put this rounded amount in the column marked “Plus 10% Payment.” In the column marked New Minimum Payment (NMP), round the total amount you are paying to all your creditors up to the nearest $100 (adding the additional amount to the payment to the first creditor).
The columns marked Scenario 2, Scenario 3, and Scenario 4 are for you to determine what your payments would be if you put an additional amount of money toward paying off your debt each month. For example, you determined that the total New Minimum Payment amount would be $500 per month. But then you decide that you can afford to pay an extra $100 each month toward reducing your debt. In the total line of the column marked Scenario 2, enter $600. The extra $100 should be added to the payment amount going to the first creditor. Repeat for Scenario 3 and 4 with varying total amounts. Use these monthly NMP figures to compare different scenarios in the Cascade Method Payment Plan to see the impact.
The Cascade Method of Debt Reduction is a plan to attack debt. Once you have completed the Determining Payments worksheet, use the information to complete this worksheet.
Enter the company name and balance for each company, in the same order used in the Determining Payments worksheet. Enter the Plus 10% Payment, New Minimum Payment, or payment amounts from Scenario 2, 3, or 4 in the column marked Month 1. Continue entering those monthly payment amounts until the amount owed to the first creditor is less than your established monthly payment amount. In that month, enter the remainder due to the first creditor and add the rest into the payment for the second creditor. The amounts going to the rest of the creditors will remain the same – the total also remains the same. In the next month, the total amount that was going to the first creditor is added into the payment to the second creditor. Continue putting those payment amounts in each month until the amount owed to the second creditor is less than the payment amount. Repeat the process, adding the additional payment amount to the third creditor, and so on, until all debt is eliminated. (See the Cascade Method - Sample for a picture of how it works.)
Prepare a spreadsheet for each scenario you are considering. Using the different scenarios, compare the number of months it will take to pay off your first creditor and when all creditors will be paid in full. Once all creditors are paid, you will be used to living without that monthly amount and you can begin saving it. The larger the monthly amount, the more quickly your savings will grow!
The Cascade Method of Debt Reduction is a plan to attack debt. View this sample to see an example of a completed Determining Payments worksheet and Payment Plan worksheets.
The Retirement Planning resources will help you begin thinking about what your income and expenses will be in retirement, and therefore, what your savings needs are. Before using the retirement planning resources, consider checking out the information in the Retirement Planning financial topic.
The Retirement Cash Flow Projection worksheet is a method to consider what your income and expenses will be before and after retirement. Even if you are young and retirement is a long way off, you should complete this worksheet periodically (perhaps every 5 years). As retirement nears (probably at least 10 years before the date) the frequency should increase so that within 5 years of retirement it will be completed on an annual basis (even more often in the last year before retirement). Any time you complete it, use current dollar amounts (don’t try to project inflation, etc.). As you complete it over time the figures will naturally adjust with your lifestyle.
Use the information from your Income Statement for the column of income and expenses marked “Before Retirement.” In the “After Retirement” column make your best guess for each item listed under income and expenses. In the column marked “Change” subtract the “after” from the “before” column. If the number is positive, then you think you will earn/spend less than you are now for that category. If the number is zero, you plan to earn/spend the same as you do now in that category. If the number is negative, you plan to earn/spend more after you retire than you are now.
At the bottom of the worksheet there is room for you to compare the totals and to determine whether the income you plan to have after you retire is sufficient. If not, you have several options. One is to reduce your expenditures. Another is to increase your income through employment. Another is to accumulate enough before you retire so that you will have more disposable income to meet your needs. Or you could achieve the desired result through a combination of the three.
Your online Personal Statement of Benefits will also be helpful in your retirement planning.
The Legacy Planning documents are essential to ensure that your wishes are carried out if you become incapacitated, incompetent, or die. Your attorney must prepare these documents and will explain to you the limitations and requirements of these documents in the state in which you live. However, you can use these worksheets before you meet with your attorney, to determine the individuals you want to appoint for the Power of Attorney, Health Care Directive, and Last Will and Testament. Note that each section states that at least one person should be selected for each position–you may have more than one person for each position of responsibility. In each case, it is wise to have a primary and a contingent person appointed.
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