Learning How to Budget



1. Gather every financial statement you can:  This includes bank statements, investment accounts, recent utility bills, school loans, and any information regarding a source of income or expense.

2. Record all of your sources of income: Record this total income as a monthly amount.

3. Create a list of monthly expenses: This includes housing payment, car payments, auto insurance, groceries, utilities, entertainment, dry cleaning, auto insurance, retirement or college savings and essentially everything you spend money on.

4. Break expenses into two categories-fixed and variable: Fixed expenses are those that stay relatively the same each month and are required parts of your daily living. They will be a set monthly amount within your budget.  Variable expenses are the type that will change from month to month and include items such as groceries, gasoline, entertainment, eating out and gifts to name a few. This category will be important when making adjustments.

5. Total your monthly income and monthly expenses: If your end result shows more income than expenses you are off to a good start.  If you are showing a higher expense column than income it means some changes will have to be made.

6. Make adjustments to expenses: If you have accurately identified and listed all of your expenses the ultimate goal would be to have your income and expense columns to come out equal.  In other words, all of your income is accounted for and budgeted for a specific expense.  If you are in a situation where your expenses are higher than your income you should look at your variable expenses to find areas to cut.

7. Review your budget monthly: It is important to review your budget on a regular basis to make sure you are staying on track. By taking the time to compare your actual expenses versus what you had created in your budget, this will show you where you did well and where you may need to improve.

http://www.readyforzero.com/resources/budgeting-tips/

First Trimester Pregnancy

First Trimester (week 1-week 12)

During the first trimester your body undergoes many changes. Hormonal changes affect almost every organ system in your body. These changes can trigger symptoms even in the very first weeks of pregnancy. Your period stopping can be a sign that you are pregnant.

Other changes may include:

• Extreme tiredness
• Tender, swollen breasts. Your nipples might also be more prominent..
• Upset stomach with or without vomiting (morning sickness)
• Cravings or distaste for certain foods
• Mood swings 
• Sensitivity to odors
• Constipation (trouble having bowel movements)
• Need to pass urine more often
• Headache
• Heartburn
• Weight gain or loss

As your body changes, you might need to make changes to your daily routine, such as going to bed earlier or eating frequent, small meals.  Fortunately, most of these discomforts will most likely go away as your pregnancy progresses, and there are those who will have no discomfort at all.  If you have been pregnant before, you might feel differently this time around.  Each pregnancy can be different depending on the individual woman.

The True Definition of Beauty

In 2011, Dove® released the findings of its largest global study to date on women’s relationship with beauty—The Real Truth About Beauty: Revisited. The study revealed that only 4% of women around the world consider themselves beautiful, and that anxiety about looks begins at an early age. In a study of over 1,200 10-to-17-year-olds, a majority of girls, 72%, said they felt tremendous pressure to be beautiful. The study also found that only 11% of girls around the world feel comfortable using the word beautiful to describe their looks, showing that there is a universal increase in beauty pressure and a decrease in girls' confidence as they grow older.

“I plead with you young women to please be more accepting of yourselves, including your body shape and style, with a little less longing to look like someone else. We are all different. Some are tall, and some are short. Some are round, and some are thin. And almost everyone at some time or other wants to be something they are not! 

But as one adviser to teenage girls said: “You can’t live your life worrying that the world is staring at you. When you let people’s opinions make you self-conscious you give away your power. … The key to feeling [confident] is to always listen to your inner self—[the real you.]” 8 And in the kingdom of God, the real you is “more precious than rubies.” (Julia DeVillers, Teen People, Sept. 2005, 104.)  Every young woman is a child of destiny and every adult woman a powerful force for good.”-Jeffrey R. Holland (“To Young Women,” Ensign, Nov 2005, 28)

Being daughters of our Heavenly Father is what makes us beautiful.  At times, it is easy to lose this perspective due to the standards that the world has set for beauty.  We must remember that as we strive to emanate with the light of our Savior Jesus Christ, others will be drawn to our true beauty: our divine self.  

“Be a woman of Christ. Cherish your esteemed place in the sight of God. He needs you. This Church needs you. The world needs you.”-Jeffrey R. Holland (“To Young Women,” Ensign, Nov 2005, 28)

Recognizing Abuse

“Satan uses your abuse to undermine your self-confidence, destroy trust in authority, create fear, and generate feelings of despair. Abuse can damage your ability to form healthy human relationships. You must have faith that all of these negative consequences can be resolved; otherwise they will keep you from full recovery. While these outcomes have powerful influence in your life, they do not define the real you.” -Richard G. Scott (April 2008 General Conference)

Signs of Abuse

• Monitors what you're doing all the time
• Unfairly accuses you of being unfaithful constantly
• Prevents or discourages you from seeing friends or family
• Prevents or discourages you from going to work or school
• Gets very angry during and after drinking alcohol or using drugs
• Controls how you spend your money
• Controls your use of needed medicines
• Decides things for you that you should be allowed to decide (like what to wear or eat)
• Humiliates you in front of others
• Destroys your property or things that you care about
• Threatens to hurt you, the children, or pets
• Hurts you (by hitting, beating, pushing, shoving, punching, slapping, kicking, or biting)
• Uses (or threatens to use) a weapon against you
• Forces you to have sex against your will
• Controls your birth control or insists that you get pregnant
• Blames you for his or her violent outbursts
• Threatens to harm himself or herself when upset with you
• Says things like, "If I can't have you then no one can."

Healthy vs. Unhealthy Relationships

Signs of an unhealthy relationship include:

• Focusing all your energy on your partner
• Dropping friends and family or activities you enjoy
• Feeling pressured or controlled a lot
• Having more bad times in the relationship than good
• Feeling sad or scared when with your partner

Signs of a healthy relationship include:

• Having more good times in the relationship than bad
• Having a life outside the relationship, with your own friends and activities
• Making decisions together, with each partner compromising at times
• Dealing with conflicts by talking honestly
• Feeling comfortable and able to be yourself
• Feeling able to take care of yourself
• Feeling like your partner supports you

 *Sometimes a relationship might not be abusive, but it might have some serious problems that make it unhealthy. If you think you might be in an unhealthy relationship, you should be able to talk to your partner about your concerns. If you feel like you can't talk to your partner, try talking to a trusted friend, family member, or counselor. Consider calling your bishop or a stake president to get the support you need and to explore next steps.

“If you are currently being abused or have been in the past, find the courage to seek help. You may have been severely threatened or caused to fear so that you would not reveal the abuse. Have the courage to act now. Seek the support of someone you can trust. Your bishop or stake president can give you valuable counsel and help you with the civil authorities. Explain how you have been abused and identify who has done it. Ask for protection. Your action may help others avoid becoming innocent victims, with the consequent suffering. Get help now. Do not fear—for fear is a tool Satan will use to keep you suffering. The Lord will help you, but you must reach out for that help.”-Richard G. Scott (April 2008 General Conference)