Financial Literacy Education Series · Session 1

My Financial Snapshot

Emergency Savings and Household Budgeting · Apex Learn × House of Friendship

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Use round numbers. If you prefer, use a pretend family. Nobody will ask to see this page.

Line	Each month	Amount
A	Take-home income — all earners, after tax Pay checks, tips, side work, benefits	$
B	Essential expenses — what you must pay to live and work Rent · utilities · groceries · transport · phone · medicine · childcare · insurance · money you have committed to family	$
C	Debt payments — minimum payments each month Credit cards · car loan · other loans	$
D	Irregular expenses — bills that come once or twice a year Car registration · school · winter clothes · holidays · a trip home → total per year $ ÷ 12 =	$
E	Current savings — money set aside today	$
	Remaining cash flow = A − B − C − D Money you can decide about each month. A negative number is common — it tells you where to look.	$

How long would my savings last?

E ÷ B = months of essential expenses

Example: $600 saved ÷ $2,400 essential = 0.25 months (about one week).

Fixed or variable?

Circle: which of my essential expenses are the same every month (fixed) and which change (variable)? Variable expenses are usually the first place to look for room.

Need, want, or priority? Write three of your own expenses in each column.

Need — must pay to live and work	Want — could pause if I had to	Priority — important to my family, on purpose

Financial Literacy Education Series · Session 1

My Emergency Savings Ladder

One step at a time. Nobody starts at the top.

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$500First milestoneMost small surprisesReached on

$1,000Next milestoneA repair or a medical billReached on

1 monthof essential expenses= my line B: $Reached on

3–6 monthsof essential expenses3 × B = $
6 × B = $Long-term. Takes years — that is OK.

What changes my target?

My income changes a lot from month to month
Others depend on my income (children, parents, family abroad)
Someone in my home has ongoing health needs
I need a car to get to work
I have family or community I can lean on in a crisis

More checks in the first four → aim higher on the ladder. The last one → a little lower is reasonable.

My plan

My first goal: $ by

I will save $ every (week / payday / month)

I will keep it in:

A separate savings account is easiest. Money you do not see is money you do not spend by accident.

Automatic transfer set up on

Planned bills this year (my “planned-bill jar”, also called a sinking fund)

These are not emergencies — the date is known. Saving a little each month means the money is there when the bill comes.

Bill	When	Amount	÷ months left = per month




Total to set aside each month			$

Financial Literacy Education Series · Session 1

My 30-Day Spending Review

Write down every expense for 30 days — even small ones. Look, do not guess.

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Start date: End date: In the last column write N (need), W (want) or P (priority).

Date	What	Amount	N·W·P

Date	What	Amount	N·W·P

Totals	Amount
Week 1	$
Week 2	$
Week 3	$
Week 4	$
30 days	$

After 30 days

The biggest surprise was:

Wants added up to about: $

One change for next month:

Bring this page to Session 2 if you like — for your own use only.

Financial Literacy Education Series · Session 1

Budget Scenario: Nadia and Marco

A fictional family. Work through it with your table.

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In the U.S. for 14 months. Two children, ages 4 and 9. Marco works full-time at a warehouse. Nadia works part-time at a store and cleans homes on weekends. One car. They send $200 a month to Nadia’s parents. They have $150 in savings. Take-home pay: $3,900 a month.

Expense	Amount	F / V
Rent	$1,350
Groceries	$600
Childcare	$420
Car payment	$310
Car insurance + gas	$325
Money to family	$200
Eating out	$190
Utilities	$170
Kids & other	$120
Phone (2 lines)	$110
Streaming	$48
Total	$3,843	Left: $57

Not planned: car registration, school supplies, winter clothes ≈ $470 a year (about $40 a month). F fixed · V variable · E essential · C a choice · P a priority

1 · Where does the money go?

Mark each line F or V, and E, C or P. Which lines are “it depends”?

2 · What could change?

New room each month: $

3 · A realistic first goal

Save $ a month

First $500 in months

4 · Two months later, the car needs $850 of repairs. Marco needs it for work. What would you suggest — and what is the trade-off?

Option	What is good about it	What it costs (money, stress, risk)
Savings + credit card
Payment plan with the shop
Borrow from family or a friend
Pay rent late

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