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Becoming Money $mart
Do you know where your money goes? If you are like many others, you
spend it but do not always remember what you spent it for. If you want to
build wealth and have a solid fi nancial plan, you must start paying attention
to how you spend your money. The best way to start is to create a daily record
of what you spend. If you track your spending for several weeks, you will get
an idea of how much you should plan for expenses in your budget.
Expenses can be fi xed or variable. Think about the expenses listed in the table below.
Decide whether each expense would be fi xed or variable. Put an X in the appropriate
column for each expense in the table.
Expense Fixed Variable
Cell phone
DVD rentals
Music downloads
Gas for the car
Car insurance
Movie tickets
School lunches
Bus pass for school
Gifts
Clothes
Eating out with friends
Other entertainment
Sports clothing/equipment
Haircuts
Monthly dues at local gym
Give
It a
Go
Categorizing Expenses