Vanessa wants to buy a house if she had $10,000 extra to spend this year. She views owning a home as something that can be hers permanently as long as she makes payments. To achieve this goal, Vanessa plans to cut back on unnecessary spending and put over half of each paycheck into savings. She will make financial sacrifices now to work towards owning a home in the future.

1. Activity Sheet:
Your Relationship With Money
NAME: _Vanessa Madriz
Your Relationship with Money
Getting a handle on money anxiety starts with an honest examination of how you relate to it.
BUILD BASIC SKILLS. Analyze yourself as a money manager. Look back to Key 11.1 on page 297
for a description of what influences how people handle money. Make notes about your personal
specifics in the following areas.
I most value spending money on . . . Buying clothes, doing my hair, nails, and feet because I
have to stay clean.
As a money manager, I would describe myself as . . . A spender yet I am still very wise at how I
spend it but I won’t spend too much I know my limit.
My culture tends to view money as . . . The key to getting nice things.
In handling money, my family and friends tend to . . . Spend money wisely because they work
very hard to get the money so they rather spend it on a car or house.
TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL. Generate ideas about what you want to do with your money. If you had
enough money for your expenses and then some, what would you do with the extra? Would you save it,
spend it, or do a little of both? Imagine what you would do if you had an extra $10,000 to spend this
year. Describe your plan here: IF I HAD A LITTLE EXTRA MONEY TO SPEND I WOULD BUY A
NICE HOUSE. THE REASON WHY IS BECAUSE THAT IS SOMETHING I CAN ALWAYS HAVE
JUST AS LONG AS I KEEP UP WITH THE PAYMENTS. BUT TO ME IT WILL BE WORTH IT ALL
BECAUSE I CAN HAVE A PLACE TO CALL HOME FOR GOOD AND I CAN DECORATE IT HOW
EVER I WANT!!!
__
MOVE TOWARD MASTERY. Look for practical ways to move toward the scenario you
imagined. Realistically, how can you make that $10,000 a reality? You may need to change how
you operate as a money manager. You may need to make some sacrifices in the short term.
Come up with two specific plans here about changes and sacrifices that will move you toward
your goal.
1. _ I CAN CUT BACK ON THINGS I CAN EITHER DO MYSELF OR SOMETHING I DON’T NEED
AT ALL
2. _i CAN MAKE SURE WHEN I GET PAID I PUT MORE THEN HALF OF MY CHECK INTO MY
SAVINGS ACCOUNT.

2. Part II
Answer the Following Questions:
1. Nearly 3 out of 4 people in the U.S. cite money as the top stressor in their lives.
Do you spend now or save for the future? If I were younger and didn’t have responsibilities
I would spend now but being that I am a past my teens years and being with my parents I
would save for the future.
2. How good are you at differentiating between needs and wants and on prioritizing needs? I
believe I am excellent at that because even when I have extra money and I know I don’t
really need something and I only want it just cause I am still a little worried about spending
it when I know I can save for something better.
3. Everyone has a weak spot; some people like new clothes, others like fancy restaurants.
What can you do to make financial sacrifices seem worth your feelings of deprivation? You
can open your eyes to a bigger picture and be like yea I can get these new shoes that just
came out but I will have this brand new house in a couple of months..
When you put these ideas to work, save or invest the money to reach for your goal.

3. CHAPTER 11: Managing Money