Ever get frustrated that you never seem to get ahead? Are you and your family constantly arguing about money? Do you ever wonder where your money went last month? Do you have trouble saving money? Do you wish you had financial security? Want to work on paying down your debt but don't know where to find the money?

This course will teach you the very basics of how to get control of your finances rather than letting them control you. It is the help you need before learning about investing, debt elimination, retirement or college planning. There aren't many places that you can go to learn these principles, so take advantage of this opportunity to learn online.

Start to make conscious decisions about spending and saving. Find out where your money goes. Make your own informed choices about where you want it to go. Learn how to fund your dreams and how to save money for everything from emergencies to vacations. If you have ever felt lost about where to start working on your finances, this course is for you.

You can't afford not to take this course and change your habits. This course is an investment in your future and you will save the cost of the course many times over by applying what you learn.

---

Recommended Courses:

Students who enrolled in Where Does All My Money Go? were also interested in the following courses:

Building Wealth

Debt Elimination Techniques That Work

Everyday Math

Personal Finance

Real Estate Investing

Stocks, Bonds, and Investing: Oh, My!

Teaching Math: Grades 4-6

Syllabus:

All courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the end. Two lessons are released each week for the six-week duration of the course. You do not have to be present when the lesson is released, but you must complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.

A new section of each course starts on the second or third Wednesday of each month. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.

Week One

Wednesday - Lesson 01

Why know where all your money goes? This lesson will inspire you to take this course and find out the answer! In this lesson, we'll talk about why anyone would want to set up a Spending Plan. We'll also discuss the difference between the Planning Mindset and the I Want It Now Mindset, as well as the ways that either mindset affects your everyday life. We'll look at lifestyles and how people usually choose them unconsciously. Then you'll find out how to examine yours, and whether you want to make any changes. We'll also discuss The Black Hole of Monthly Payments: what it is, how it works, and why you'll want to learn how to avoid it. This lesson is the foundation of all of the ones that follow, because it will get you excited to learn why to get control of your own money.

Friday - Lesson 02

In this lesson, you'll begin the work of tracking your money by learning how to create a Net Worth Statement. We'll look at how your personality affects your attitude towards money, and how to manage money in marriage and relationships. Then we'll discuss why you should set some goals for yourself, and you'll work on writing your own financial Wish List.

Week Two

Wednesday - Lesson 03

This lesson begins with a discussion about the importance of your checkbook. We'll discuss various banking topics like ATM transactions and debit cards, and how to choose the best bank account for you. Then we'll delve into how to create a Mail Station and a Bill Paying Station as a place to organize yourself for paying your bills. We'll also cover how to keep all of your paperwork—from what to save to how to create a filing system.

Friday - Lesson 04

This lesson is the backbone of good money management. You'll learn how to balance your checkbook and how this task affects all of your money issues. We'll also take a look at keeping track of your credit card statements.

Week Three

Wednesday - Lesson 05

In this lesson, we'll examine that enemy to financial freedom: debt. We'll look at how to know if you're in debt trouble, and you'll compile your own personal debt list. We'll also discuss tax debt, and then most important, we'll examine how to best pay debt off. Finally, you'll work on prioritizing your debt so you know what to pay off first.

Friday - Lesson 06

In this lesson, it's time to look at your spending habits and where you've been spending your money. You'll create a list of expense categories, and then create a Historical Costs Worksheet to examine where your money has been going. We'll also discuss how to keep a cash log to track where your cash gets spent. Very few people know the answer to this! But you will after completing this lesson and its assignments.

Week Four

Wednesday - Lesson 07

In this lesson, we'll get into planning how to change the way you manage your money, which begins with drafting your first Spending Plan. We'll discuss how a Spending Plan works, and we'll look at how to create one using your Historical Costs Worksheet as a base. Then we'll compare your figures with standard guideline percentages to see where your Spending Plan might be off.

Friday - Lesson 08

Now it's time to set up some detail about how to work your Spending Plan. You'll start by learning how to create a Bill Paying Plan. This will show you what bills to pay when. We'll also discuss getting an allowance (like a lot of us had as children) and how this will help you to manage your spending.

Week Five

Wednesday - Lesson 09

In this lesson, we'll go to the heart of how to really use your Spending Plan with the Envelope System. We'll examine what it is, how it works, and why it's superior to other methods of budgeting. All of the other lessons build up to this one.

Friday - Lesson 10

In this lesson, we'll look at the guts of the Envelope System and examine it in detail. This is the nitty-gritty, how-to lesson that pulls together everything you've done so far.

Week Six

Wednesday - Lesson 11

Today we'll discuss some temptations to overspending, including your personal spending weaknesses, keeping up with the Jones, housing and transportation issues, and teaching kids about money. If you're not careful, these things can pull you off track.

Friday - Lesson 12

In this last lesson, we'll look at why and how to save, and how to best use your savings account. We'll explore stocks, bonds, mutual funds, retirement accounts, and saving for college. And you'll review your Wish List now that you've learned how to better handle your money. At the end of this lesson and this course, you'll be able to confidently answer the question "Where Does All My Money Go?" And you'll experience the freedom that comes from not worrying about money any more!

This course includes a knowledgeable and caring instructor who will guide you through your lessons, facilitate discussions, and answer your questions. The instructor for this course will be Susan Price-Batting.

Susan Price-Batting is the money manager of her husband's business, and she co-manages the money side of her family's 30+ year old mail order business. She created, ran and later sold her own successful mail order business. She put herself through graduate school without taking out any loans and is also a graduate of the H&R Block Tax Class. Susan has lived virtually debt free for her entire life and brings her practices for day to day money management to those who need guidance. Her expertise with managing money started long ago when she had the good fortune to learn good basic money principles from her parents around the dinner table. Because of her first-hand knowledge of how to live within one's income, her knowledge of how to run a successful business, and her ability to teach, Susan is constantly asked by others to help them get their financial lives in order. Now she counsels others individually in money management and wrote this course to help even more people learn to get control of their money. Susan has been called the Budget Lady, and is a born teacher. She teaches by example, and will help you understand not only how to get control over your money, but why you'll want to.

Requirements:

Internet access, e-mail, the Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Web browser, and the Adobe Flash and PDF plug-ins (two free and simple downloads you obtain at http://www.adobe.com/downloads by clicking Get Adobe Flash Player and Get Adobe Reader).

Student Reviews:

"As my first online course this was GREAT!"

"Bravo on a fantastic course! My husband and I have been trying to do this for years and the envelope system really works. I have done our plan, and am so excited to get it rolling in earnest."

"Excellent course! Fantastic teacher! Teacher is friendly, humorous, and very encouraging. I would recommend THIS course taught by THIS teacher. I've taken other similar courses before, but this one was better, more practical for my purposes, and taught with such humor and style. Course is well-written, too."

"Excellent job, Susan! Thanks so much for your help and your excellent teaching. I'm going to be debt free, too, and you've given me the tools to do it."

"Good job! Informative and interesting class."

"Great class! I wish I had taken it about 10 years ago. We recently refinanced our house which took care of our debt. The bad part is this is the third time we have done this. We have excellent credit and found ourselves piling on the debt after we re financed the first 2 times--this is the last time. Thanks to you, I feel we can keep our budget the way it should be. I am very impressed. Thank you."

"Great class with lots of helpful examples and suggestions!"

"Great course. I feel like I am on the right track."

"Great job and enoyed the discussion section."

"I am a credit counselor and help people with budgets every day. This was extremely valuable for me both personally and professionally."

"I am SO glad I took this class! Now that I have the freedom to choose what to do with my money, and I will have some extra money to actually do something with, I have a better idea of what I need to do, how to prioritize, and how to go about doing it and stay in the black. I will highly recommend this class to my friends! Thanks!"

"I believe that this course has put me on the right path to getting control of my finances and making my financial future a lot brighter. Thanks for a very informative course."

"I enjoyed the class and felt that the instructor presented the course material in a very effective manner."

"I enjoyed the course and felt it was very informative. Thanks for the great information. I hope that I can put all of this to good use and continue with it. I can see improvements already."

"I enjoyed your class and recommend it. I am going through it with my daughter who is in her 1st year of college to help her do a better job of managing her finances. I wish they would have had a course like this when I was in high school, it sure would have been helpful all those years ago before things started to snowball. This course is easy to understand and is taught on a level that most of us can relate to. Thanks!"

"I feel for the first time in my life that I can get control of my money and I can see the light at the end of the black hole of monthly payments. Thanks."

"I feel this course gave a lot of examples, ideas and support for those of us who are interested in getting our finances in order. The instructor had a great sense of humor that came across as encouraging and understanding. I really appreciated that! Thank you for this opportunity. Now I have got to put it in action!"

"I found this class to be invaluable in money managment. The lessons were clear and concise and easy to understand. I was able to really grasp what she was teaching. I would definitely recommend this class to somone else."

"I found this course to very helpful and I appreciated her teaching style. I feel this course was helpful to me."

"If you can get over the hard part it becomes a breeze and it feels wonderful to know you can live without any worries about having enough money to really do the things you love to do. Great course!"

"I have really enjoyed taking this course. I feel that I have learned some very valuable things and am confident that my money management skills will greatly improve."

"I hope someday that Susan writes a book ! I have learned a lot from this course and I would recommend it to others. Thank you."

"I just wanted to let you know this has been a great course! I have learned a lot and am very excited about using my new money managing skills to set myself up for a successful life free from debt. Thank you for making everything easy to understand!"

"I just want to thank you for an excellent class! Your insights are wonderful and the lessons and exercises are excellent! Keep up the great work! I look forward to taking additional classes from you."

"I learned so much from this course, and feel I have a much better grasp on handling my finances responsibly and thoughtfully."

"I loved this course and felt it was really well done. The instructor was very interactive within the forum which gave it a nice personal touch. Thank you."

"I loved this course! Susan is a great teacher and her insights and advice have really helped me in my preparations for a retirement spending plan. Thank you Susan!!!"

"I really appreciate all the effort you put into this. Your caring is evident. I also am very appreciative that you wrote this course, it has helped me a good deal. Thank you."

"I really enjoyed the course and I learned some very valuable information. I felt that the instructor was very knowledgeable and presented it in an easy to understand form. Thank you!"

"I really enjoyed the course. It was what I expected and more. Needless to say thank you for everything."

"I really enjoyed this class and felt like I learned a lot of useful information. The little bit of humor kept me wanting to learn more. I loved it, thank you!!!"

"I really learned a lot from this class that will be so valuable to me through life. My problem is that I like things fixed over night and have come to realize that this will take time…Thanks for all the great tips and advice!"

"I thoroughly enjoyed the class and now I kind of miss not taking it anymore."

"I thoroughly enjoyed this course. I'm positive that the lessons and assignments will enable me to make a major difference in my financial picture over a period of time. I would be interested in any other courses taught by this instructor. She did an outstanding job."

"It was very interesting."

"I've really enjoyed the class and found it helpful. Thank you Susan for your great writing, explaining and patient responses."

"I've really learned a lot from your course. I just want to say thank you for creating this material for people like me, who stay in debt. I didn't have a clue of how to manage my money. The course is easy, readable, and not lengthy, I really appreciate that. Your examples are comprehensible, and easy to understand. I told my grown children, if I had learned this material at the age of 18 I would be dynamite now, financially so free! I will recommend this course to people I know."

"I very much enjoyed this class. The instructor talked like a person that was truly trying to help us with our financial goals. Thank you so much."

"I was having trouble figuring out an idea how to save money in my savings for my annual bills, and this class helped. I also like the spending plan worksheet to help me see my spending on paper, what a surprise."

"I was very impressed with the amount and quality of the information provided throughout this course. The lessons are well defined and build nicely upon each other. I used to practice keeping track of my finances until I told myself I was too busy. I'm a firm believer in many of the ideas presented in this course, as I have used them previously and they work. I found the lessons in using an envelope system to be extremely valuable in making the effort of creating historical cost worksheets, spending plans, and bill paying plans completely worth the time and effort. The additional resource lists pertaining to individual lessons were also very useful. This was a great course to get me back on track in my life. I encourage anyone to keep going through the lessons. You really will see the benefits of knowing where your money is actually going."

"I wish I had found something like this course years ago. I am a 47-year old woman who has never really figured out how to get ahead. Now I have a concrete way to plan, to save, to pay everything off and start with a clean slate. The prospects are exciting! I like the idea of not owing anybody anything. I like the idea of paring down my possessions and simplifying my life. Who needs all this stuff, anyway? Thank you for a sensible lesson that I should have learned as a child."

"I wish this class was a requirement in college!! I enjoyed this class very much. I gained a ton of knowledge and insight from Susan Price-Batting. What I liked the most was her writing and teaching style. She made me laugh and in the process she tricked me into learning something! I did not feel as if I was in a traditional classroom. The course felt as if she were a friend giving me valuable inside advice about my financial situation. YOU NEED THIS CLASS!! Especially if you are just starting your career and getting into the important ADULT decisions like house/condo buying, managing credit, and getting those nasty creditors off you back. THANKS SUSAN!!"

"Just what I was hoping for and searching for. It has helped reduce stress caused by our family budget difficulties. Thank you very much!"

"Let me tell you how amazing your class is. I am thankful for having the path laid out ahead for me. It seems like an easier road ahead as my hubby and I fix the mess we've gotten ourselves into."

"Overall, this course could be of benefit to anyone. I'm sure even those who "think" they know enough about their money, could still learn a thing or two. Would definitely recommend this course!"

"Quite interesting, informative, and eye opening! I am glad that I chose this course. Thank you!"

"Susan, I have taken quite a few courses online through ed2go but yours has been the best. The amount of information you covered was amazing. I really liked your presentation and feedback. Another important point is that all your contact sites in the supplementals were up-to-date and informative relative to the particular chapter covered. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and enabling us to get new skills in the management of our finances. Your delivery was fantastic. All those financial conversations around your dinner table really paid off! I would love to see you offer an advanced course in finances (retirement options, investing, etc) since we now have the groundwork! Thank you again! Your course was excellent!"

"Susan, I just completed my final exam. And I have to tell you that I really disappointed that the class is over. I have enjoyed every single lesson and have learned so much. I can feel very strongly that I am making new decisions about how I spend money. The envelope system is still a new thing to me but I am committed to using it. Thank you so much for offering such a great class and for making it so "real"."

"Susan, I really enjoyed your course on many levels. It's made me aware of so many things I had never thought about, and how to approach them as well. It's really valuable."

"Susan is an excellent instructor! If she is available to teach any other classes, snag her immediately!! I am surprised at the level of involvement Susan had with our class and how open and honest she was in sharing her life and relating to ours. This was an excellent learning experience for me! THANK YOU, SUSAN!!!"

"Susan, Thanks for an excellent class. I liked the very specific instructions for setting up spending, bill paying and savings plans, and how to keep track of where our money is going. The class was also very useful as a discussion starter, giving me and my husband a more objective and less emotional way to negotiate our different spending patterns. You clearly have a lot of expertise in this subject--thanks for sharing it."

"Susan, thanks so much for the design of this course - I have run a successful business for 22 years, and didn't know what to expect from this course, but found that you taught me valuable techniques and a way to think about money that I can use in both professional and personal life."

"Susan, thanks so much for the information. I think this is a really great course, chock full of super information. Especially thanks for the effort you've put forth in communicating with everybody here. You've really stayed on top of the discussion area. I will strongly recommend this course to everybody I know who could benefit from learning more about how to handle their finances...which is everybody!"

"Susan, thank you for an excellent class…I really enjoyed your writing style - it was like you were talking to us in person - and you made what could have been a very dry subject interesting. And it was motivating. And I very much appreciate all the supplementary material. I've been checking out the various sites, and have learned so much from them as well. I am so glad I took your class. Thank you!"

"Susan, thank you very much for all your support, advice and enthusiasm. The whole class was wonderful. I really enjoyed it."

"Susan, you are SO organized and in the present moment about "personal funds". It's so very impressive. I can't tell you how much I love your delivery of the material. There have been quite a few individuals who have tried to convey these messages to me and were totally unsuccessful! Your technique is very digestible and you empower us to believe we can change and understand how important planning and projecting is. It truly makes a difference at the end of the month when you pay attention to your spending! I am just amazed."

"Thanks Susan for everything, this class was very helpful to me!!"

"Thank you for helping me get our money in order. When we retire in 4 months this will really help to keep on track with our money. Thank you again."

"Thank you for offering this course, I have really enjoyed figuring out where my money goes. The hardest part was keeping track of every purchase right down to my coffee. I am able to do it with ease now and that feels great. Designating a day once a week really is the way for me. The course has been wonderful and anyone who is brave enough to take it will benefit immediately and substantially in the long run. Cheers and thanks again!"

"Thank you for the very informative course. I know it will help my husband and I to change a financial future."

"Thank you for this course. You have made a difference in my life with this course."

"Thank you. I thought the course was well done with many good ideas. I liked that I could log into the classroom at times that were convenient to me."

"Thank you so much for all the information. I found the class extremely interesting. I already do a lot of what you have taught the class but I would have never thought of using an envelope system. I'm looking forward to trying it and seeing how it works for me. I always seem to do better using cash than putting things on credit card. You tend to be more careful when using cash as opposed to using credit cards. Thanks again!"

"Thank you so much. I have identified “where all my money goes". With your help, I believe my impulse buying days are coming to an end. For every dollar I am spending, I know exactly what it is costing me - I didn't really know before (didn't want to know). I have NEVER been so conscious of my credit card use. I used to use credit cards for everything, but I am learning to use cash instead. With cash and the envelope system, I am well on my way to financial fitness."

"THANK YOU!!! This was a fantastic course, full of all the information I needed. Not only has the course given me the information I needed to get my finances under controll, it has given me a peace of mind, knowing just where my finances stand (not as bad as I thought they were). I have also found that I am becoming more organized in other areas of my life. I am letting my son and daughter read the lessons, too. They need all the help they can get to keep their finances in controll. I could not have given them all the information that they needed prior to taking these lessons."

"Thank you very much for a very informative course. I have already started to get a better handle on where my money is going and how I'm going to eliminate all debt (except for my mortgage). I really thought your discussion on buying used instead of new was very good. This was an excellent class!"

"[The course] was very useful; and I appreciate you being so organized with the course material."

"The instructor, Mrs. Price-Batting, helped give me a workable outline of step-by-step management to get my financial bookkeeping in order and managed. I had been trying myself for years, but her approach was clear and organized and made the job possible. Her envelope system is the simplest exact system I have ever had explained to me. Her insights, humor, caring, and cheerleading were of great help."

"The instructor was awesome, the way she worded things was great. I liked that she used an example couple throughout the course and made it more life like and understandable. Wonderful. Thanks."

"The lessons and assignments were well thought out to walk you through each step. …I found keeping track of where I was spending my cash in the beginning of the course an eye opener. Also the envelope system will work in the same way when used over time to monitor expenses. Thank You Susan for all your time and effort."

"This class was great. I learned a lot of information. It covered exactly what I needed, what to do after you have made a spending plan! How to finalize and actually execute the plan."

"This course contained a wealth of information. This course should be required for all students in high school! I highly recommend the course/instructor. Thank You Susan for sharing your stories and knowledge!"

"This course has been very hard for me but in a good way! Writing down what was actually spent during the last two months has been a real eye opener. I had heard of doing the envelope system with cash but it only seemed practical for certain items, but doing it on paper, wow! What a difference that is making in our life already!"

"This course has been very helpful! I have begun to think a lot more about my money before I actually spend it and I really have become addicted to saving! I have saved a sufficient emergency fund in the last couple of months and it feels great."

"This course has given me a new perspective on life and I finally know what I am supposed to do with that stuff called "money!""

"This course has motivated me to get my finances in order, to be aware of what I currently have and to start setting some financial goals for my future. Thanks for the motivation!!"

"This course has really helped me to understand how to do a "budget." I am also going to be able to teach my daughter how to handle money. I have been given skills I did not have before this course. Thank You."

"This course helped me a lot with my financial planning/saving. I may even pass this along to my parents...maybe it will help them out too!!"

"This course taught me a lot, for years my husband and I have been struggling and wondering where all our money went. This course broke down everything for us and we actually saw the big picture. Now we are on the road to recovery, it has actually taken some of the stress out of our relationship."

"This course was a great tool for me to start living a debt free life. And I thank you for offering it. I just wished this was offered in my younger years. At 51, I feel it is never too late to start and I feel the instructor was a great help in making me realize this."

"This course was awesome! I took it thinking I could gain information for when I talk to my daugter about finances. To my great pleasure, I was the one who gained valuable information for me personally and for my business. THANK YOU!"

"This course was fantastic! I'm in my early 30's but wished I took this class in my early 20's. Class helped me understand where my anxiety about money comes from. You need to be organized, and Susan helps you understand how. Very informative and I can say that I'm better off now than 6 weeks ago before I had this class."

"This course was great! Too bad it is not a requirement in high school."

"This course was very informative. It got right to the point. I've learned so much. I wish I had taken this course twenty years ago. I will now try to teach this to my children. I've retired but now I find myself having to go back to work. If only I'd had this class when I was younger. Again thanks for all your help because I'm really going to use these techniques forever."

"This is a great course...I wish you would do one for high school-age students! I know a few who would really benefit!"

"This is an excellent class. It required more time than I expected, but well worth it, and it really made me think and take action regarding money issues. I have already saved the cost of the class in getting my spending under control. I would recommend this class to anyone."

"This was a great class! I wish they would have offered this in high school...before I got myself into debt! Thank you."

"This was an excellent course and the envelope system really allows you to take a budget to the next level. I am very glad that I took this course. The online format was excellent because it allowed me to complete the lesson on my own schedule."

"This was an excellent course. I am so excited to keep using the new techniques that I learned throughout this course to keep track of where my money is going. It has been truly helpful already. Thanks so much!"

"This was an extremely valuable course! I wish I would have had this information and the discipline it provides years ago. I would suggest it to anyone who is serious about gaining control of their financial situation."

"This was an interesting and needed course because it reaches out to those who need help with money management as opposed to growing their money."

"This was such a great course! I've learned so much since I started and have already started to see the difference in my finances. I know a lot of people say this, but I wish I did this years ago!!! This is a really awesome course and I will recommend it to any and everyone I know. It is a great investment towards financial freedom, no matter what situation you’re in. I hope all of my fellow classmates and students to come enjoyed this just as much as I did! Thanks for all your great advice!"

"Very informative and helpful course! I learned more than I had expected to. Taking this course has triggered more interest in learning about financial issues and investing. Great Course!"

"We are very excited to put the information we learned in this course to use!"

"Well, thanks for a great course, Susan...There were a lot of things I knew intuitively but needed some practical suggestions to help put them into practice."

"While we are not in a financial crisis, I found this course very helpful. I personally believe that I have good money skills, but I learned several skills in this class – ideas and strategies that I had never thought of before. Great class!"

"Wonderful course!! Showed me some great ways to see where my money is going. I love the envelope system. Thank you."

"Wow! This course was THE most informative! I have taken several courses online and this was the best, loaded with content. Highly recommended! Thank you."

"You have a wonderfully animated and warm teaching style that comes through in your writing and makes the topic much more bearable!"