FINANCIAL WELLNESS ASSESSMENT TOOL
Congratulations for taking time to assess your financial wellness. Answering the following questions truthfully will give you an idea of your current financial status. Analyzing your spending habits will allow you to see where your money is going, enable you to initiate changes, and prevent you from making a financial commitment before you are ready. No matter what your results are, you have taken the first step to financial health just by taking this assessment.
FINANCIAL WELLNESS ASSESSMENT
Answer YES or NO
1. Are your debts making your home life unhappy?
2. Do you have difficulty paying all your monthly bills each month?
3. Does emotional or impulse spending ever create financial problems for you?
4. Do you spend money that hasn’t been budgeted for in your spending plan?
5. Do you borrow money to pay off your debts or pay for items you used to pay for with cash?
6. Are you paying bills with money designated for something else?
7. Are you paying more than 20% of your income to pay debts (excluding car & mortgage/rent)?
8. Are you using your savings to pay your bills?
9. Is your emergency savings less than one month’s pay?
10. Have you ever taken cash advances from one credit card to make payments on other credit cards?
11. Do you generally pay only the minimum due on credit cards and/or loan balances?
12. Do you borrow money or extend the time it takes to pay off debts?
13. Are you unsure of how much debt you have?
14. Are you at or near most of your credit card limits?
15. Do you take out a new loan before the old loan is paid off?
16. Are you pawning items or using check-cashing operations/payday loan services?
17. Are you often or always late in paying your bills?
18. Do creditors call you regarding late payments or threaten garnishment, repossession, or cancellation of credit?
Results and Advice:
*If you answered “YES” to any of questions 1-9, you may be headed for financial trouble. Your answers indicate your financial situation is not necessarily a sign of impending doom, but you need to watch your spending and saving practices. Cut back on credit usage and be alert for other over extension signs.
*If you answered “YES” to any of questions 10-15, you might already be in financial trouble. Eliminate credit usage and get your spending under control before your financial situation gets worse. You are encouraged to seek assistance from a reputable source in developing a realistic budget and debt repayment plan.
*If you answered “YES” to any of questions 16-18, you may be approaching a crisis. It is imperative to get your spending under control right away. Put your credit cards away and stop all unnecessary pending. Please access one or more of the resources the team is making available to you as soon as you can.
Congratulations for taking time to assess your financial wellness. Answering the following questions truthfully will give you an idea of your current financial status. Analyzing your spending habits will allow you to see where your money is going, enable you to initiate changes, and prevent you from making a financial commitment before you are ready. No matter what your results are, you have taken the first step to financial health just by taking this assessment.
FINANCIAL WELLNESS ASSESSMENT
Answer YES or NO
1. Are your debts making your home life unhappy?
2. Do you have difficulty paying all your monthly bills each month?
3. Does emotional or impulse spending ever create financial problems for you?
4. Do you spend money that hasn’t been budgeted for in your spending plan?
5. Do you borrow money to pay off your debts or pay for items you used to pay for with cash?
6. Are you paying bills with money designated for something else?
7. Are you paying more than 20% of your income to pay debts (excluding car & mortgage/rent)?
8. Are you using your savings to pay your bills?
9. Is your emergency savings less than one month’s pay?
10. Have you ever taken cash advances from one credit card to make payments on other credit cards?
11. Do you generally pay only the minimum due on credit cards and/or loan balances?
12. Do you borrow money or extend the time it takes to pay off debts?
13. Are you unsure of how much debt you have?
14. Are you at or near most of your credit card limits?
15. Do you take out a new loan before the old loan is paid off?
16. Are you pawning items or using check-cashing operations/payday loan services?
17. Are you often or always late in paying your bills?
18. Do creditors call you regarding late payments or threaten garnishment, repossession, or cancellation of credit?
Results and Advice:
*If you answered “YES” to any of questions 1-9, you may be headed for financial trouble. Your answers indicate your financial situation is not necessarily a sign of impending doom, but you need to watch your spending and saving practices. Cut back on credit usage and be alert for other over extension signs.
*If you answered “YES” to any of questions 10-15, you might already be in financial trouble. Eliminate credit usage and get your spending under control before your financial situation gets worse. You are encouraged to seek assistance from a reputable source in developing a realistic budget and debt repayment plan.
*If you answered “YES” to any of questions 16-18, you may be approaching a crisis. It is imperative to get your spending under control right away. Put your credit cards away and stop all unnecessary pending. Please access one or more of the resources the team is making available to you as soon as you can.
Setting Goals Can Help Boost Your Savings
***This news release from K-State Research and Extension is posted at http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/news/story/boost_savings022015.aspx.
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Wanting to buy a new car or house? Perhaps you have your eye on something smaller, such as a new camera, tablet or other electronic device. Maybe your family is planning ahead for retirement or college tuition for the children.
Many things we want in life require money, and Elizabeth Kiss, family resource management specialist for K-State Research and Extension, said thinking about those goals helps motivate people to save enough money to reach them.
“America Saves Week is a great opportunity to step back and take a look at what you are saving for, how much you have already accumulated, and how much more you’d like to save,” Kiss said. “Savings can be a challenge, but it can be easier if we set goals.”
America Saves Week is an annual event in its 9th year that brings awareness to organizations and individuals about examining their savings status, managing their savings and promoting good savings behavior. It will take place Feb. 23-28.
Be strategic and realistic
According to the America Saves Week website, (http://www.americasavesweek.org/images/aboutamericasavesweek.pdf) most Americans are not saving enough for retirement, and many households do not have enough money saved for emergency expenses, such as a car or house repair.
Not having as much money set aside as we would like to have can add stress to our lives, Kiss said, so although saving can be difficult, try to start small. Many times after developing the habit of regularly setting money aside in a savings account, savers will find themselves to be less stressed and have more peace of mind.
In addition to starting small, Kiss provided the following tips for savers to be more strategic and realistic:
1. Picture the goal.
Put a picture of your goal on the refrigerator or a desk to bring that goal to the forefront of your mind.
“To be successful, you need to think about why you want to save,” Kiss said. “Visualize that why. Once you have the big picture, think about what makes sense for your situation and how you might add to your savings a little at a time to achieve it.”
2. Make your savings goal attainable.
Given your current spending, think about what you might be able to shift around to free up money to put toward the goal. Think about what is reasonable for you past your fixed expenses, and then set a deadline for when you plan to have enough saved to reach the goal.
“You can make your savings automated or automatic,” Kiss said. “For me, automatic is that on the first day of the month, I transfer the money to my savings account. I decided I wanted to be the one to do that, because it gives me a sense of accomplishment. Some people want to have the transfer set up so they don’t have to think about it, which is automated.”
3. Reduce debt to increase net worth.
Other than putting money aside and watching it grow, consider paying down debt, especially high-interest debt. Budgeting can help find ways to pay down debt while simultaneously saving for other goals.
“As the level of debt goes down, you pay less interest and you have freed up money to use to meet other goals,” Kiss said.
4. Monitor any spending leaks.
Some spending is required, such as rent or house payments, insurance, utilities and groceries for the home. Spending leaks are regular expenses for “nice to have” items made by habit. These are often small expenses of less than $10 that add up over time.
“It’s the eating out and small expenses such as going to the pop or vending machine that are spending leaks,” Kiss said. “Once in a while that is fine, or if you plan and budget for it, then it’s part of your spending plan. But, if you think about those habits, you may decide they don’t serve you as well and you’re ready to use that money for something else.”
5. Build an emergency fund.
Research has shown that fewer than half of Americans could come up with $2,000 within 30 days to meet an emergency, so if you don’t have $2,000 set aside to access fairly readily, an emergency fund might be a good savings goal.
“Families with at least $500 saved in an emergency fund are found to be better off financially,” Kiss said. “A little bit of savings adds up over time, so even a small savings goal is better than nothing.”
More information
Although America Saves Week brings awareness of savings behavior, the America Saves (http://www.americasaves.org/) and Kansas Saves (http://www.kansassaves.org/) websites are available year-round to provide tips and support to consumers. Consumers can also use these websites to pledge to save and sign up to get savings tips through text messages.
Story by:
Katie Allen
K-State Research and Extension News Media Services
[email protected]785-532-1162
For more information:
Elizabeth Kiss – [email protected] or 785-532-1946
***This news release from K-State Research and Extension is posted at http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/news/story/boost_savings022015.aspx.
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Wanting to buy a new car or house? Perhaps you have your eye on something smaller, such as a new camera, tablet or other electronic device. Maybe your family is planning ahead for retirement or college tuition for the children.
Many things we want in life require money, and Elizabeth Kiss, family resource management specialist for K-State Research and Extension, said thinking about those goals helps motivate people to save enough money to reach them.
“America Saves Week is a great opportunity to step back and take a look at what you are saving for, how much you have already accumulated, and how much more you’d like to save,” Kiss said. “Savings can be a challenge, but it can be easier if we set goals.”
America Saves Week is an annual event in its 9th year that brings awareness to organizations and individuals about examining their savings status, managing their savings and promoting good savings behavior. It will take place Feb. 23-28.
Be strategic and realistic
According to the America Saves Week website, (http://www.americasavesweek.org/images/aboutamericasavesweek.pdf) most Americans are not saving enough for retirement, and many households do not have enough money saved for emergency expenses, such as a car or house repair.
Not having as much money set aside as we would like to have can add stress to our lives, Kiss said, so although saving can be difficult, try to start small. Many times after developing the habit of regularly setting money aside in a savings account, savers will find themselves to be less stressed and have more peace of mind.
In addition to starting small, Kiss provided the following tips for savers to be more strategic and realistic:
1. Picture the goal.
Put a picture of your goal on the refrigerator or a desk to bring that goal to the forefront of your mind.
“To be successful, you need to think about why you want to save,” Kiss said. “Visualize that why. Once you have the big picture, think about what makes sense for your situation and how you might add to your savings a little at a time to achieve it.”
2. Make your savings goal attainable.
Given your current spending, think about what you might be able to shift around to free up money to put toward the goal. Think about what is reasonable for you past your fixed expenses, and then set a deadline for when you plan to have enough saved to reach the goal.
“You can make your savings automated or automatic,” Kiss said. “For me, automatic is that on the first day of the month, I transfer the money to my savings account. I decided I wanted to be the one to do that, because it gives me a sense of accomplishment. Some people want to have the transfer set up so they don’t have to think about it, which is automated.”
3. Reduce debt to increase net worth.
Other than putting money aside and watching it grow, consider paying down debt, especially high-interest debt. Budgeting can help find ways to pay down debt while simultaneously saving for other goals.
“As the level of debt goes down, you pay less interest and you have freed up money to use to meet other goals,” Kiss said.
4. Monitor any spending leaks.
Some spending is required, such as rent or house payments, insurance, utilities and groceries for the home. Spending leaks are regular expenses for “nice to have” items made by habit. These are often small expenses of less than $10 that add up over time.
“It’s the eating out and small expenses such as going to the pop or vending machine that are spending leaks,” Kiss said. “Once in a while that is fine, or if you plan and budget for it, then it’s part of your spending plan. But, if you think about those habits, you may decide they don’t serve you as well and you’re ready to use that money for something else.”
5. Build an emergency fund.
Research has shown that fewer than half of Americans could come up with $2,000 within 30 days to meet an emergency, so if you don’t have $2,000 set aside to access fairly readily, an emergency fund might be a good savings goal.
“Families with at least $500 saved in an emergency fund are found to be better off financially,” Kiss said. “A little bit of savings adds up over time, so even a small savings goal is better than nothing.”
More information
Although America Saves Week brings awareness of savings behavior, the America Saves (http://www.americasaves.org/) and Kansas Saves (http://www.kansassaves.org/) websites are available year-round to provide tips and support to consumers. Consumers can also use these websites to pledge to save and sign up to get savings tips through text messages.
Story by:
Katie Allen
K-State Research and Extension News Media Services
[email protected]785-532-1162
For more information:
Elizabeth Kiss – [email protected] or 785-532-1946
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