In research by the nonprofit Jump$tart Coalition, which promotes personal finance education, the average high school student correctly answered just 48.3% of the questions covering money basics in 2008. That was down from 57.3% a decade earlier, but even that score was hardly distinguishing -- anything less than 60% counts as an F.
A 2005 poll by Harris Interactive for the National Council on Economic Education showed that adults aren't that much savvier.
While teens on average scored a 53 (another F) on a quiz testing knowledge of basic economic and personal-finance concepts, the grownups' average score was just 70 (a C). (quoted from 9 Rules to Live By)
This is NOT good news.
Recently, I have been astounded by cashiers who look more than once at the readout for the amount of change that is due me. I appreciate their not wanting to make a mistake. What gets me is how often they have to stop and figure how to make the change to give me! This should be fundamental.
I've gotten used to the fact that people cannot mentally compute the amount of change that is due. But, I will never get used to the fact that they cannot tell the process of making that change. Retailers are having a tough time finding employees who can do the simple math required to run a retail business.
This is one of the problems of our educational system of today.
You may not be a cashier, but you need to be aware of how to make change. You need to know the correct change that you are due. If not, you could easily be shorted, and the item(s) ending  up costing more than you anticipated.
If you are not sure about your ability, how do you fix it? Are you too old to go to school to learn something so basic? NO!
However, there might be an easier way. Go find someone to teach this basic skill to--children, grandchildren, neighbors. If all else fails, find a local teacher who would be willing to work with you for a short period of time
 to teach you. Be sure to offer to pay them.
Learn this very important skill. Know how to make change correctly. Your financial future may well depend on it.

WHAT IS A BUDGET?
    What did you feel when you first saw those words?
    For those who have already left this article (believe me, there are many who have not made it this far), there was a gut-wrenching, negative feeling associated almost immediately.
    What about you? You're still here. What are your feelings associated with the word “budget?”
    The question probably sounds stupid to many people, but give me some room here.
    Think about it.
    What is a budget?
    How would you define it or explain it to someone who had never heard the word before?
    Go ahead. Take your time. This may prove more difficult than imagined. Give it your best shot.
    Ready?
    Let's go with Wikipedia:
        A budget (from old French bougette, purse) is a financial plan and a list of all planned expenses and revenues. It is a                 plan for saving, borrowing and spending. In other terms, a budget is an organizational plan stated in monetary terms.
    Simply put, a budget is a plan for how to spend your money.
    Do you have a plan? Or, do you just deal with whatever shows up, when it shows up? Are you just sort of careening from crisis to crisis?
    If so, how is that working for you?
    Your life is your business—and I mean that in a fiscal way, not a private way in that it is none of my business. Your life is your operation, your storefront, your place where you produce income.
    You are the CEO of YOU, Inc.
    When you look at the way the CEO of YOU, Inc. is handling the company's finances, would you fire the CEO? Is the CEO of YOU, Inc. doing a good job of managing the finances of the business?
    Every business has a plan for how it will spend its resources: labor, advertising, research, upkeep, products, etc.
    That plan is called a budget.
    What is your plan?
    Again, from Wikipedia--
        In summary, the purpose of budgeting is to:
            1. Provide a forecast of revenues and expenditures, that is, construct a model of how our business might perform financially if certain strategies, events and plans are carried out.
            2. Enable the actual financial operation of the business to be measured against the forecast.

     Notice first that the budget is a forecast of income and expense. A forecast is a prediction. A budget, therefore, is a prediction of where the money is coming from and where it will go.
    A budget, then is not a strait-jacket that does not allow you any freedom. It is a plan of action.
    It is YOU telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went.
    If you do not have a budget, a plan for your money, then you are at the mercy of the whims of life and of your own uncontrolled desires. Consequently, you probably often run out of money before the next arrival of income.
    How does a budget help?
    It helps you to put a stop to that leaky bucket that continually drains off all your finances.
    If you truly want to have a better financial picture, then begin today—right now—to take control of your finances.

                                                        Create a BUDGET.
                                Do it.
    Now.

    Take a sheet of paper and write down ALL your sources of income and how much you get. Include food stamps, paycheck, assistance, whatever. Record all of it and then add it up for a total.
    Then, write down ALL of your known expenses: housing, utilities, phone, food, credit card bills, car, gas, etc. Add all this for a total.
    Hopefully, this number will be less than the number for your income.
    If not, you have a problem, because if your outgo exceeds your income, then your upkeep becomes your downfall.
    Whatever amount is left over is your discretionary income—ie, that means you can decide where it will go.
    If you don't decide ahead of time with a budget, then that amount will be how much disappears this month. So, put it in the budget.
    Where will it go?
    Yes, you can decide to spend it on “bling” for your body, car, house or appetite. But how long will the pleasure of those things last? Long enough to make the price worth it?
    You could decide to put any extra money toward getting yourself out of the never-ending spiral of “not enough.”
    It is your choice. Where will your money go this week? This month?

YOU, Inc. will ultimately decide.

According to a recent study done by a team at Brigham Young University, there is a direct correlation between materialism and problems in marriage. They found that any materialistic bent  by either partner can wreak havoc on the relationship. If both partners are materialistically inclined, the odds of divorce are increased.

“We found that materialism had a negative association with marital quality, even when spouses were unified in their materialistic values. Marriages in which both spouses reported low materialism were better off on several features of marital quality when compared to couples where one or both spouses reported high materialism.” (copied from online abstract October 14, 2011) Materialism and Marriage: Couple Profiles of Congruent and Incongruent Spouses (Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy Volume 10, Issue 4, 2011 )

Definition: there are many different types of “Materialism” as found in the online encyclopedia Wikipedia. There are: eliminative, Christian, dialectical, cultural, historical, economic, and spiritual materialism. The common factor is the emphasis on the material world. For our purposes here, we will use the terms “materialism/materialistic” to mean markedly more concerned with material things (such as money and possessions) rather than spiritual, emotional, intellectual, or cultural values.

Given that the main purpose of My Money Methods is to teach the effective use of money, it is necessary to address such a topic as materialism.

Materialism is a cancer that eats at and eventually destroys the one possessed of it. For in the end, one is always left with the emptiness of a self-serving life.

Jesus and Buddha both had many things to say about materialism and its effects on one's life. Buddha—One is the way to gain, the other is the way to nirvana; knowing this fact, students of Buddha should not take pleasure in being honored, but should practice detachment.

Jesus—No one can serve two masters, for you will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

When Jesus said, “You cannot serve God and wealth,” he was not saying that it is illegal or immoral or in some way wrong to serve both. No. He was saying it is impossible.

Regardless of the modern concept and drive for “multi-tasking,” human beings are only capable of one emotional focus at a time. You might be doing many things at once, but you are not focused on more than one at any given moment.

The two great teachers were making the point of our emotional focus and what is more necessary in this life.

Focusing on material gain must of necessity take your mind away from your family, other relationships, and your spiritual life.

The most important thing discovered in the research done for this study revealed that even when a couple both shared the same materialistic values, their marriages were rocky at best.

It has often been said that money, or financial problems, ranks high on the list of the causes of divorce. However, a recent study by Jan Andersen, associate professor at CSU Sacramento, showed that the more recent research put money problems at the fourth or fifth rank of leading causes of divorce.

Interestingly, however, is the fact that the other causes such as incompatibility, lack of emotional support, abuse and sexual problems can all be traced to a lack of focus on the marriage or the marriage partner. Is this possibly another example of the divided mind mentioned above?

Is it not also possible that a materialistic focus would contribute to or cause each of those problems? The answer is an obvious “YES.”

Therefore, while it is my passion to help you discover and eliminate the obstacles to your financial health, I also want to caution you against the disease of materialism. In fact, materialism and materialistic ambitions can contribute to financial distress.

Why? Because money is a by-product of your life. It is not the goal.

The goal of a well-lived, fulfilled life is one that includes every aspect of what it means to be human; and money only provides the means for material pleasures, not the pleasure itself.

Take joy in the things and people you are surrounded with. Make those in your family your top priority. Spend time with them. Love them. The issues of money will fall by the wayside, and you will have the necessary emotional reserves to handle your finances accordingly.

Until next time, remember to live, laugh, and love in such a way that your life has meaning.