Money Charts are used to have a visual and fun way to keep track of your savings progress or your debt payoff progress.
Having a way to visually track your progress will strengthen your self-belief and will also prepare your mind to achieve your goal. Furthermore, when you are able to see how far you’ve come, it will help tremendously during those times of doubt!!
Each chart has a specific amount of lines or objects to color in. Some have 25, some have 50, and some have 100.
Put a $0 at the top or bottom of the chart. For savings goals the $0 is usually at the bottom, but for paying off debt it could go either way. It depends on if you want to see how much debt you have paid off (the $0 will be at the bottom) or if you want to see how much debt you still have left to pay off (the $0 will be at the top). Either way, put a $0 on one end and the total amount of debt on the other end. Divide your debt by however many lines there are and that will give you the number to put on each line.
Example: If you owe $10,000 worth of debt, divide 10,000 by 50 (if you’re using a chart with 50 lines) and you will get 200. Each line is $200. Put $200 on the first line, $400 on the second line, $600 on the third line and keep going until you reach the other end. Once you pay $200 on your debt color in up to that line. When you pay $200 more, color up to the $400 line, etc.
If you are using the charts to pay off debt, track your balance. Don’t track your interest or your normal payments.
For example: If I owed $3,000 and I made a payment of $400, but it only knocked $300 off of the total because of interest, I would color up to the $300 mark. Once you make a payment, wait for it to post and then look at the new balance. The balance is the number you will be using for the charts.
It’s ok if the numbers don’t match down to the penny. These are not meant to be a 100% precise financial representation, they are meant to be a motivational and visual exercise.
You can print these out on regular paper or on card stock. It mainly depends what you want to use to color it in. Cardstock would work better for ink pens, highlighters, or markers. Colored pencils would work great on regular paper.
Keep your chart someplace you see it! Put it on your refrigerator, by your computer, or any place else you will see it all the time. This will keep your goal at the forefront of your brain.
When you finish coloring in a chart, don’t throw it away! You can keep if someplace safe, laminate it, frame it and hang it on your wall, or just keep it next to your next money chart so you can see your total progress!!
Also, please tag me throughout your journey on Instagram (@financialcoachapril) or Facebook (April Bauer Financial Coaching). I LOVE seeing these charts in action!!!
FAQ's
You will get a download link sent to the email address your provided immediately after check out.
Once you complete your order at checkout, the download link will be emailed to the email address your provided. Just click the file link and it will automatically download. Downloading on a computer is recommended.
Unfortunately, I do not mail out the charts. Please consider saving the file onto a USB drive and taking it to the library or a office supply store to have it printed out.
At this time I do not make custom charts, but I would love to hear what you would be interested in and I will add it to my suggestions list. If you have a suggestion please email me at april@aprilbauer.com
No, nothing is physically mailed to you. The charts will be sent to the email address you provided. The system I am currently using doesn’t allow me to eliminate any of the unnecessary fields.
My favorite is the Debt Snowball because you get quick wins and that motivates you even MORE and you really start to see the light at the end of the tunnel 🙂
However, I educate on 3 different methods: The Debt Snowball, The Debt Avalanche, & The Mental Health Method. You have to figure out which one is best for you and your situation.
The Debt Snowball: List all of your debts in order from the smallest to the largest. Make minimum payments on all of your debts except the smallest one. That is the debt you’ll be attacking first. Pay the minimum plus ANY extra money you can throw at it until that debt is gone. Then apply everything you were paying on the debt and add it to the payment of the next debt in line. Repeat.
The Debt Avalanche: List your debts in order from the highest interest rate, to the lowest interest rate. Make minimum payments on all of your debts except the one with the highest interest rate. That is the debt you’ll be attacking first. Pay the minimum plus ANY extra money you can throw at it until that debt is gone. Then apply everything you were paying on that debt and add it to the payment of the next debt in line. Repeat.
The Mental Health Method: Make minimum monthly payments on all of your debts except the one that is causing you the most stress and affecting your mental and emotional health. That is the debt you’ll be attacking first to get it out of your life and behind you. Pay the minimum plus ANY extra money you can throw at it until that debt is gone for good! From there I would switch to the Debt Snowball or the Debt Avalanche so you have a very concrete plan of action.
