Spending Plan Solutions is the second book I’m reading in the Moneylife Basics series by Crown Financial. This book sets out to cover two major topics. Spending plans and budgeting (really the same thing) and Major purchases likes homes and cars. Just like all the other books in the Moneylife basics series this one is short, around 70 pages.

You need to be organized and have a plan when you set a budget. This book gives you a simple step by step approach to setting a budget. When you setup a budget it’s easy to overlook some of the expenses you will incur. You may be focused on your your regular bills and normal spending routines and then forget to include things like oil changes, shampoo or medical expenses.

The spending plan steps help you think through every possible expense and plan accordingly. There is also a great example budget listed based on a family of four making just over $45k per year.

When things are tight we need to use a budget to be sure that we are not spending more than we are taking in. If we just hope that things will work out we are setting ourselves up to fail. Everyone spends more money without a budget than they do with a budget. Do what ING says, save your money.

The second section of the book talks about major purchases. Eventually, everyone is going to make a major purchase. Major purchases usually include homes or cars, but they can also include other major items like a new computer or furniture.

Major purchases can be budget killers. You’ve been faithful to your budget for 6 or 12 months and then all the sudden a major purchase comes along and you feel like it ruins all the hard work you’ve put in. But, if you have a plan ahead of time, you can avoid this small disaster.

Spending plan solutions covers many of the important details around buying a house or car. If you are new to making major purchases you will benefit from reading this section. If you’ve already bought a couple homes or cards you may find this section basic. However it is still worth reading because the Godly wisdom that is used in these chapter may help shape the way you make your next major purchase.

You can buy Spending Plan Solutions from Crown Financial here.