The goal of this book is to allow you to successfully implement the 12-week financial fitness program followed by Ryan and Christine. Each section will outline the exercises and activities that are important for you to follow at that stage. The first section will help you lay the foundation for your success by assisting you to prepare for the following twelve weeks. You will assess your current level of financial fitness by completing a personal fitness questionnaire together with an initial net-worth statement. You will then prepare a list of personal financial objectives to help guide your thinking and focus your efforts.

Background
Achieving any type of success usually requires the application of sound principles, proper planning, careful tracking, and appropriate adjustments along the way. In the book Money for Life: Budgeting Success and Financial Fitness in Just 12 Weeks, Ryan and Christine Richardson learned valuable lessons about the principles, tools, and steps necessary to successfully achieve personal financial fitness.

The secret is spending less than you make. Although this may sound like a simple thing to do, it is surprisingly complex in this ever-changing and expanding “cashless” electronic society. However, doing this consistently for several years will help to create a level of financial security most people only dream about. It requires the consistent application of the principles and steps that you will learn here in the Money for Life Success Planner. Everyone needs to develop a spending plan regardless of how much they make. Whether you use cash, paper and pencil, a spreadsheet, software, or something else, you need to do something. And you need to get started now—it’s that important.

The Success Planner has been developed to assist you with the objective of achieving financial fitness. Carefully completing the activities and exercises contained in this planner helps you follow the same path to financial fitness that Ryan and Christine followed. You will be amazed, as they were, how many significant and positive changes can be made in just a few short weeks.

This Success Planner guides you through the 12-week financial fitness program outlined in Money for Life. When you have finished the program, this planner allows you to retrace your steps, as well as review the adjustments and changes you have made. You will be able to understand and see clearly, not only how your thought processes and behaviors have changed, but also how your new thought processes and behaviors have led you to a level of financial fitness that you perhaps did not think was possible. Specifically, you will be able to:

• Spend less than you make.
• Plan for unexpected expenses, including emergencies.
• Set money aside in advance of spending requirements.
• Implement a household budgeting system that makes communicating easy, even fun.
• Put a plan in place for debt elimination.
• Use credit cards without increasing debt.
• Successfully manage your money in today’s “cashless” electronic society.

This exciting journey is yours and yours alone. No one else can make it for you. The satisfaction and peace that you achieve will be a direct result of the energy and dedication you apply. Thousands have gone before you, and thousands are joining you every day. The rewards will truly be extraordinary. Congratulations on choosing to become financially fit!

Front Cover:

Back Cover: