Ever get frustrated that you never seem to get ahead? Are you and your family constantly arguing about money? Do you ever wonder where your money went last month? Do you have trouble saving money? Want to work on paying down your debt, but don't know where to find the money? This course will teach you the very basics of how to get control of your finances rather than letting them control you. It is the help you need before learning about investing, debt elimination, retirement or college planning. There aren't many places that you can go to learn these principles, so take advantage of this opportunity to learn online.

Start to make conscious decisions about spending and saving. Find out where your money goes. Make your own informed choices about where you want it to go. Learn how to fund your dreams and how to save money for everything from emergencies to vacations. If you have ever felt lost about where to start working on your finances, this course is for you. You can't afford not to take this course and change your habits. This course is an investment in your future and you will save the cost of the course many times over by applying what you learn.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows XP or later.
• Mac: OS X Snow Leopard 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Adobe Flash Player. Click here to download the Flash Player.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader. Click here to download the Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Prerequisites:

There are no prerequisites to take this course.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Why Know Where All Your Money Goes?

Why know where all your money goes? This lesson will inspire you to take this course and find out the answer! This lesson will talk about why someone would want to set up a Spending Plan. It will discuss the difference between the Planning Mindset and the "I Want It Now" Mindset, as well as the ways that either mindset affects your everyday life. You'll look at lifestyles and how people usually choose them unconsciously. Then, you'll find out how to examine yours, and whether you want to make any changes. The lesson will also discuss The Black Hole of Monthly Payments: what it is, how it works, and why you'll want to learn how to avoid it. This lesson is the foundation of all of the ones that follow, because it will get you excited to learn why to get control of your own money.

Looking Back Then Planning Ahead

In this lesson, you'll begin the work of tracking your money by learning how to create a Net Worth Statement. You'll look at how your personality affects your attitude towards money, and how to manage money in marriage and relationships. Then, you'll learn about why you should set some goals for yourself and work on writing your own financial Wish List.

Checkbook and Record Keeping

This lesson begins with a discussion about the importance of your checkbook. It will discuss various banking topics like ATM transactions and debit cards and how to choose the right bank account. Then, you'll delve into how to create a Mail Station and a Bill Paying Station as a place to organize yourself for paying your bills. The lesson will also cover how to keep all of your paperwork—from what to save to how to create a filing system.

How to Balance Your Checkbook and Credit Cards

This lesson is the backbone of good money management. You'll learn how to balance your checkbook and how this task affects all of your money issues. You'll also take a look at keeping track of your credit card statements.

Debt Is a Four-Letter Word

In this lesson, you'll examine that enemy to financial freedom: debt. You'll look at how to know if you're in debt trouble and compile your own personal debt list. The lesson will also discuss tax debt and you'll examine the best ways to pay debt off. Finally, you'll work on prioritizing your debt so that you know what to pay off first.

Looking Back: Assembling Data and Historical Costs

In this lesson, you'll look at your spending habits and where you've been spending your money. You'll create a list of expense categories, and then create a Historical Costs Worksheet to examine where your money has been going. The lesson will also discuss how to keep a cash log to track where your cash gets spent. Very few people know the answer to this! But you will after completing this lesson and its assignments.

Planning Ahead: Drafting Your First Spending Plan

In this lesson, you'll learn to change the way you manage your money, which begins with drafting your first Spending Plan. The lesson will discuss how a Spending Plan works, and you'll look at how to create one using your Historical Costs Worksheet as a base. Then, you'll compare your figures with standard guideline percentages to see where your Spending Plan might be off.

Paying Bills With a Bill Paying Plan

Now it's time to set up some detail about how to work your Spending Plan. You'll start by learning how to create a Bill Paying Plan. This will show you what bills to pay when. The lesson will also discuss getting an allowance and how this will help you manage your spending.

Keeping Your Spending Plan on Track, Part One

In this lesson, you'll go to the heart of how to really use your Spending Plan with the Envelope System. You'll examine what it is, how it works, and why it's superior to other methods of budgeting. All of the other lessons build up to this one.

Keeping Your Spending Plan on Track, Part Two

In this lesson, you'll look at the guts of the Envelope System and examine it in detail. This is the nitty-gritty, how-to lesson that pulls together everything you've done so far.

Avoiding Temptations to Get Off Track

This lesson will discuss some temptations to overspending, including your personal spending weaknesses, keeping up with the Joneses, housing and transportation issues, and teaching kids about money. If you're not careful, these things can pull you off track.

Saving, Investing, and Conclusion

In this last lesson, you'll look at why and how to save, and how to best use your savings account. You'll explore stocks, bonds, mutual funds, retirement accounts, and saving for college. You'll also review your Wish List now that you've learned how to better handle your money. At the end of this lesson and this course, you'll be able to confidently answer the question "Where Does All My Money Go?" and experience the freedom that comes from not worrying about money any more!

Matt Crabtree, CFP ®, earned his Bachelor of Science in Business, Information Systems Management, in 1999, a mini MBA certificate from The School of Management at Yale University in 2004, a certificate in Financial Planning from Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business in 2012 and has received the financial industry's most rigorous and prestigious professional designation of Certified Financial Planner ™. After many years in project management, office management, and business sales, Matt began training individuals and organizations in areas of business finance, leadership development, successful negotiations, sales management, and customer service excellence. Matt has trained individuals and various units within the U.S. Department of Defense, as well as corporate organizations including IBM (technology), Accuray (healthcare-technology), and Gen-Probe (molecular diagnostics). Matt is registered as a securities broker with the Financial Authority Regulation Authority (FINRA) and with the U.S. stock exchanges (NYSE and NASDAQ) and as an investment advisor with FINRA. Matt's natural aptitude for explaining his material in an easy-to-understand and enjoyable manner allows each student to gain insights into areas that are often considered challenging.