San Diego, CA. “People have two things to spend these days, time and money. For the most part, people would rather spend their money. So much so, they may be one of two types of overspenders; (A) Those who spend beyond, sometimes way beyond, their income and or ability to repay and (B) Those people who pay to much for things because they failed to comparison shop,” concluded the nonprofit Institute of Consumer Financial Education (ICFE), a San Diego based group helping consumers become better spenders, regular savers and wise users of credit. April is National Financial Literacy Month and the ICFE offers this spenders profile.

“If you hear ‘SPEND’ when your money talks, you too, may be one of those consumers who later discover themselves in a nightmare of debt instead of living the American dream,” says ICFE executive director, Paul Richard, a Registered Financial Consultant (RFC), who was in bankruptcy court at age 25, due to overspending with charge cards.

Here is a short evaluation to help you determine if you are an overspender and what type.

Following are statements pertaining to your spending techniques. There are five responses to select from which indicate the degree of your likeness to each statement. Just mark the number in the space provided. Should a statement not apply to your situation, skip it and adjust the scoring accordingly which follows afterwards.

1. Totally like me
2. A lot like me
3. Equally like and unlike me
4. A little like me
5. Not like me at all

1. ____ I always live within my income range.
2. ____ Each income period, I set aside at least ten percent for savings.
3. ____ My finances are managed according to a written spending-plan .
4. ____ All household and grocery spending is planned in advance and done with a list.
5. ____ I rarely make more than one trip a-week to the grocery store.
6. ____ Grocery and other coupons and rebate offers are utilized whenever possible.
7. ____ Comparison shopping for quality, value, price, etc. is something I/we do for practically every purchase, large or small.
8. ____ I have no revolving debt carried on credit or charge cards.
9. ____ I have not had an overdraft of my checking account nor paid late fees on a credit card.
10.____I regularly contribute to an employer sponsored retirement plan, IRA or a 401k plan.

Scoring Your Spending Techniques
10-15 VERY GOOD. Time to teach others how you do it.
16-20 Pretty Good. Concentrate on improving a few of the weaker areas.
21-35 Average. An hour a-week devoted improving spending will equal greater $avings.
36-40 Lousy. Immediate changes required, now, to avoid a financial disaster.
41-50 It Stinks! Time to contact a credit and debt counselor.

For information about "Mending Spending,” warning labels and sleeves for your charge/debit cards, visit the ICFE's Web page at: www.icfe.info .

The site also includes helpful sections on increasing savings, using credit wisely, plus "How to set up and implement a spending-plan" (with a one page work sheet) for personal and/or family finances. To receive the same information by mail, please send $1 and a self-addressed, 60 cent stamped envelope to: ICFE Money Helps PO Box 34070 San Diego, CA 92163-4070.
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