1. A monthly written spending plan
2. A plan to get out of debt
3. A written will
4. Term life insurance
5. Savings account (with money in it!)

BONUS:  Health Insurance

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BONUS for self-employed  Health Insurance

I know what you are saying already.  You are saying, "It is so horribly expensive!"  I would say, "I KNOW it is horribly expensive, but it is way MORE EXPENSIVE to NOT have health insurance."

Half of all bankruptcies are due to medical bills.  Why did the medical bills happen?  Because of the lack of health insurance.

I personally like High Deductible Health Plans (HDHP) with an attached Health Savings Account (HSA).  The cost of this insurance is much more affordable, and, frankly, it is a better deal for the consumer!

I really like eHealthInsurance's interface for finding insurance.  You only have to provide basic information (and not your contact info – yay!) unless you want to share more info!

Check out the health insurance quotes HERE. 

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Part Five  Savings Account (with money in it!)

I used to operate with an average bank balance of $4.13 in it (can I get a witness).  I celebrated because it was positive!

But the lack of savings led to numerous negative financial issues.  Every single time that life happened (sick child, refrigerator died, car broke down, etc.), I would have no money.  As a result, I would put the bill on the credit card.  The cycle of debt spiraled out of control.

Every time I had a problem, I had two problems.  I would have a sick child problem and a money problem.  I would have a refrigerator problem and a money problem.  ARGH! 

A healthy savings account solved my problem.  Instead of blowing my tax refund in February 2003, I put it into savings.  We never acquired debt from that day forward.  Has life stopped happening?  NOPE!  BUT we have money to fix it!

A savings account with money in it has been the greatest stress-reliever we could ever purchase!

Jenn and I keep our money in on-line savings accounts at three different on-line banks.  They pay  interest that is five to eight times above the national average and are very flexible to use.

You can check out the three banks we have savings account with HERE.

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Part Four  Term Life Insurance

Term life insurance is too cheap to not have it.  When you have people who are dependent upon you for your income, term life insurance is a great way to provide for them in the event of your untimely death.

You can obtain free quotes without talking to anyone HERE.

I personally carry ten times my annual take home pay in 30-year Level Term Life Insurance.  It is SO cheap.  My bride is a homemaker.  Even though she does not produce an income, she is invaluable at what she does!  If she would die an untimely death, it would take tons of money to replace the work that she does.

I have seen so many instances where someone has died an untimely death and left a financial mess for their surviving family members.  Term life insurance takes care of the financial issues so that the family can focus on grieving!

So today's challenge is to get your new quotes and put your policy into effect!

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Part Three  A written will

This one kills me.  When I ask people to raise their hands if they do not have a written will, it is usually over HALF of the room!  If you do not have a written will when you pass away, the government will decide who takes care of your minor children and who gets your stuff!

That ought to scare you!  The last I checked, the death rate is about 100%.  You WILL die some day.  Do you have a written will?  You can obtain a written will from a local attorney, but I have found that LegalZoom has an EXCELLENT product that allows you to write a will for much less than most attornies would charge you.

If you died today, who would become the primary caregiver for your children?  Who would manage your estate?  Answer those questions on a legal will TODAY! 

While you are at it, consider a Healthcare Power of Attorney and a Living Will too.

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Part Two  A plan to get out of debt

How much money do you send to lenders every single month?  Think about that for a minute.  Add up the payments.  The house payment.  The student loan payment.  The car payment.  The other car payment.  The credit card payment.  The llama payment.  The doctor payment.

How much is it?

What else could you do with that money?

I challenge you to download the FREE "Debt Freedom Date" calculator from the Next Steps page (HERE).  Take the time to fill out the "Actual Cost of Debt" calculator too.  It will open your eyes as to how much of your hard-earned money is just going to fill up the bank's pockets every month.

When will you be debt-free?

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Part One A monthly written spending plan

Anyone who has been through the Financial Learning Experience saw this one coming!  It really is unbelievable how many people walk through life without a financial plan.  We will plan like crazy for our proms, weddings, child's birthday party, and a vacation, but we do not take the time to plan the one thing that funds all of those!

If you are operating your life without a written spending plan, I know one thing about you.  You could substantially improve your financial management simply by preparing a written spending plan every month. 

There are a ton of FREE budget tools located on the Next Steps page (HERE).  Of course, you could accomplish the same thing with a pencil, paper, and calculator.  If you do not have Microsoft Excel, set up a Google Docs account, save the free file to your desktop, and then upload it to Google Docs.

There is no excuse for NOT having a written spending plan every single month.  None.

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