1- INTRODUCTION: GETTING STARTED

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

pg 4

2- BEGIN THAT SHUTDOWN!pg 10

In this section we’re going to refer Eddie and Rebecca’s experience and tackle any internal conflicts you mayhave adjusting to your cleanse and ways to stay on track.

What is an economic shutdown?What can you achieve by doing an economic shutdown?What’s in the e-book...

3- TRACKING YOUR PROGRESS pg 17

4- NEXT STEPS pg 20Analyze your success and RELISH IN IT!

NAIL IT DOWN, track that progress.

WHAT CAN WELA DO? pg 25WHO is WELA?

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1Introduction:

Getting Started

“So what is to be done?

How do we reset our spending habits?

What is the 4

It’s saving money on steroids. It’s a juice cleanse for your finances. This is not a budget. This is your first step to making a budget and getting back on track. This can also be a way for you to destroy your debt faster than you ever thought you could. The Economic Shutdown can actually be whatever you want it to be. There are several different reasons to go on a household economic shutdown.

- Destroy Debt in hyper-speed- Saveforsomethingbig(vacation,engagementring,anewcar)- Getyourover-spending,under-savingwayoflifebackontherightpath- Because you’re a bossandyouneverturndownagoodchallenge

Whatever your reason for the Economic Shutdown, we’re here to help you dominate it. This e-book will outline how to prepare for your shutdown, give you tips on maximizing your savings, and show you what to do with the mountain of cash you saved once it’s over.

economic shutdoWn?

Meet Eddie and Rebecca Goepp

eddie is a managing partner at Wela and his Wife rebecca is an office manager for a real estate developer. they

decided to take on the economic shutdoWn in may of 2015 and capture their experience in a 5 part series

on the Wela blog. at the time rebecca Was 6 months pregnant so the goepp’s had plenty to save for. We’re

going to use their experience as a point of reference for you in this e-book but We also recommend you read about their journey over on the blog www.blog.yourwela.com.

FIRST“So what is to be done?

How do we reset our spending habits?

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you need to understand your spending.

WHERE DOES YOUR MONEY GO EACH MONTH?

Review your spending from the 60-90 days. Categorize your expenditures and determine how much you’re spending in each category.

Wela has a great tool to help you do this a bit faster. Create an account on yourwela.com if you don’t already have one. Link your bank accounts and credit cards with (any accounts that you use for making regular purchases).

Once you’ve linked go to http://www.yourwela.com/ budget. This tool will categorize your expenditures based on your previous transactions. You can change the categorization if need be!

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L et’s look at “typical” month in the Goepp household. This does not include their savings towards our retirement plans as this is a net take-home pay exercise (after all taxes, deductions, 401(k) contributions, etc.).

What are the takeaways from this pie chart?

The Goepps eat. A LOT. They spend almost as much on groceries and dining out as they do on their house. This is definitely an area where they can cut back significantly.

TIP:Very simply put, if you don’t need it to live, don’t buy it (within reason).

• Mortgage• Utilities• Cell phones• Food (grocery store, not

dining out)• Gym membership (lo-

cal gym, it’s reasonable and investing in health is important)

• Medical expenses• Medicine

• Car payment for Leaf (my wife drives a Nissan Leaf on a two-year lease, and yes the tax credit is real)

• Gas for my truck• Cable / Internet (justify-

ing this as my wife and I both are expected to be available from home for our jobs)

• Dog Food (but my wife has promised to skip the treats while on Economic Shutdown…this in and of itself will save us an un-sightly amount of money, sorry honey!)

Determine the areas where you MUST spend money such as your mortgage, your bills, etc. Here’s what Eddie & Rebecca’s list looks like

What We MUST Spend Money On

What We Will NOT Spend Money On:(The Pleasantries of Life)

• Gifts (sorry friends and family – get ready for some crafty homemade gifts)

• Starbucks • Clothes • Eating out (outside of a gift card of

course!)• Movies (including renting movies and

on-demand / iTunes, etc.)

• Grooming (pedicures, manicures, etc. Please continue showering)

• Housekeeper • Alcohol • Landscaper • Dog Daycare

to take things one step further

think about some expenses that could be “negotiated”

during the economic shutdown. You can’t cancel your

cable package for just a month or two but some of your

expenses might be more flexible.

Do you subscribe to Netflix, Hulu or a similar service?

Many of these services will allow you to suspend your

account meaning you don’t have to cancel them but

you can put them on pause for the duration of your

economic shutdown. Same goes for some monthly

subscription boxes (Julep, Birchbox, etc.) See if any of

your other monthly subscriptions like gym memberships

allow you to freeze for a brief period of time.

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2Begin That Shutdown!

1 BE MORE DELIBERATE WITH WHERE YOU SPEND YOUR MONEY.

What does this mean? It means being consciously aware of what you’re about to spend, why, and if it’s really necessary. No more absent-minded swiping of the cards.

LET’S BEGIN THAT SHUTDOWN!

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In this section we’re going to refer Eddie and Rebecca’s experience and tackle any internal conflicts you may have adjusting to your cleanse and ways to stay on track.

2 basic principles...

2 PLAN AHEAD.

-Plan your meals-Plan for situations where a need to spend might arise: Here’s an example. Ever been driving from one thing to another and your stomach starts to rumble? You’re headed to soccer practice or a PTA meeting so you swing by fast food to satiate your grumbling stomach. Plan ahead, bring snacks with you and stash them in your desk and your car...

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Tackling The food siTuaTion

As we’ve already seen, Eddie and Rebecca’s biggest challenge was reducing their spend on food. This may not be the case for your family but we’re willing to bet there’s room for cutbacks. So let’s tackle the food dilemma.

Rule #1 Plan your meals for the week and make one trip to the grocery store. Why are you doing this? Often food is sold in sizes you won’t use up in a single meal. Planning ahead allows you to pick out dishes where you can overlap ingredients. It also shows you where your opportunities are to plan a meal of leftovers.

Rule #2 Get your groceries for the week in one visit.Now that you have your plan, make your list. When you head to the store you know exactly what you need to get and you avoid the chance of hitting the store again and succumbing to temptation or impulse purchasing.

TIP:You probably already know this but don’t forget to check the internet and your newspaper for coupons before you head to the store. DO NOT USE COUPONS AS AN EXCUSE TO BUY.

Here’s a look at Eddie and Rebecca’s meal planning:

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Here was the first week’s grocery list & total cost:

Now is a good time to take a moment to talk about wholesale clubs like Sam’s Club and Costco. If you’ve been thinking about joining one now is the time to do it. The savings can be pretty big here, especially if you have a large family. Even if it’s just you or you and your significant other there are still ways to reap the benefits of wholesale membership. Here’s what Rebecca had to say about her wholesaling during their economic shutdown. One of the biggest challenges to me was making Costco work well for

a household of two. I didn’t want to buy items in bulk that might go to waste, and so I found it very helpful to plan out the entire week’s worth of meals to see exactly where I could use the ingredients repeatedly. (For example, I bought the Organic Grass Fed Beef 3 pack at Costco, and used it in the chili, stuffed peppers, and burgers.)

I also wanted to use organic produce as much as possible. It was important to me to demonstrate that you can eat healthy on a budget. The organic frozen veggies and berries at Costco were

a huge win for me in this category. I don’t typically buy frozen produce, but was pleasantly surprised and would certainly purchase these again. (They’regoinglastusanotherweekortwoforsure!)

The other big improvement area – EntertainmentA common area of excessive spend for just about anyone is entertainment and figuring out how to decrease that or even cut it out completely during your shutdown can leave you thinking “I’m going to be so bored!Mykidsaregoingtobesobored!”Relax. We’ve got you.

Rebecca’s Aha! Moment

ALMOST EVERYDAY. Say we BOTH spent $8 at lunch every week day… That’s $320 out the window. Breakfast or coffee out, even half the time tallies another quick $100 very easily. Throw in a couple of dinners out (I counted 3 in March…) and that very quickly adds up to close to $1,000 of easily trim-able cost.

“

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Here’s some great ways to beat boredom (some might even do some good for your soul!)

16SOME GREAT WAYS TO BEAT BOREDOM:

1Tackle all those things you’ve been meaning to get to like cleaning out your junk drawer or running those bags of clothes over to Goodwill. Try to think of even bigger projects like cleaning out the shed or emptying the mass of boxes in the basement. Sure you probably haven’t gotten to them because they’re tedious but turn on some music and revel in your new found sense of accomplishment!

2 Anything you’ve been outsourcing, bring it in. Cleaning people, manicurist, landscaper, personal trainer. Going on a cleaning spree or giving yourself a pedicure can take up quite a bit of down time.

Eddie’s suggestions:

Coaching baseball has been one of the outlets I’ve gotten involved in. Our baseball team finished the season last week and despite having a great time, the final record was a bit disappointing. But, it kept me busy and didn’t cost a dime. This will be my first week since 6 months with no baseball commitments, so I’ll be hitting the books preparing for my CFP Board exam in a couple of months. Another great way to be productive and save. We were sure to take our pup, EB, to the park almost every day last week. Rebecca is always diligent to get EB some outside playtime, and I join them from time to time.

“

3 Get out and get some family time! There are so many ways to enjoy the outdoors, play games, and have new experiences with the kiddos or your extended family. This is the best way to never feel bored without spending money on entertainment.

4 Watch videos of cats riding Rumbas on Youtube!

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3TRACKING YOUR PROGRESS

Take time to track your progress. Not only does it serve as an excellent source of motivation but it will show you any areas you might be inadvertently slacking off. Breakout your spending just like you did at the beginning and compare it to your original chart. Do this weekly, halfway through, whatever keeps you motivated.

18TakealookathowEddieandRebeccawereperforming3weeksintotheirshutdown:

Eddie:We are now over 75% (77% to be exact) of the way through our “Financial Cleanse” and despite tightening the belt figuratively, I, alas, don’t think I can claim that it has helped tighten my belt literally. Either way, through 2.5 weeks in, we have only spent about 60% of our take-home pay. This includes paying for all major household expenses (mortgage, taxes, insurance and utilities). Just 60%! The next week will be the home stretch, and we’re encouraged by the progress thus far. Here’s a rough estimate of where our money has gone:

Expense Breakout

Category Total Net Income Total Expenses Mortgage / House UtilitiesCell Phones FoodGym / ClubMedical (incl. medicine) Car Expense (gas, lease) Cable Internet Necessary Pet Supplies Miscellaneous Charitable

% of total 100.0% 60.2% 28.1% 2.2% 0.5%4.5% 1.5%1.8%

8.3%1.5%0.5%1.9%9.4%

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These numbers are exciting to review and very revealing. Our home expense is 28% of our take-home pay… for those who have purchased a home before, you’ll recall that lenders typically like to see the PITI ratio (principal, interest, taxes and insurance) at 28% of gross income, and we’re in-line on a net basis. Our next largest outflow is in the charitable category followed by car expense. There’s more to come on the car expense as we had an unexpected (and unfortunate) event take place over the weekend. But have no fear, there is a lesson to be learned!

Thus far, we’ve spent $363 on food and nothing on dining out. Assuming our spending holds steady through the end of next week, we are on track for a huge savings in the grocery category alone, not to mention the substantial savings from not dining out. Before I make this comment, let me just say that this exercise is IMPOSSIBLE unless all parties in the household are on the same page. I’m very appreciative that Rebecca has been 100% on board for our “financial cleanse.”

TIP:If you’re finding it difficult to keep from spending move 10-20% of your take-home to a savings account (one you can have immediate access to in case there’s an emergency.) Out of sight out of mind can be a very effective strategy.

“These numbers are exciting to review

& very revealing!

what we have learned...

3Next Steps

21When you’ve reached the end of your economic shutdown first

give yourself a big pat on the back then let’s hit those numbers.

ANALYZE YOUR SUCCESS (AND RELISH IN IT).

From Rebecca:

“ We’re happy to report that we ended up saving over 35% of our take-home pay! It was 35.3% to be exact! That doesn’t include our 401(k) contributions, which we’re both maxing our employer’s match and we contribute to a Health Savings Account (HSA). We also set aside about 3% each month to a cash savings account for our 1 – 3 year expense fund. This account is above and beyond our emergency reserve fund. Sorry, enough financial planning. Back to the results, that 35.3% was previously being spent! As many of you are now well aware most of that was spent dining out sporadically or just generally slipping through the cracks. And we weren’t blowing it out at Ruth Chris every week either. The little decisions that we make each day add up in a big way. This month has been living proof of that for us.

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1Calculate how much of your take home you were able to save in the past month using this equation:

$ TOTAL CASH ON HAND

$ MONTHLY TAKE HOME

2 Go a step further and compare that to your previous month and see how much extra cash you now have.

Example:If your monthly take home is $5,000 and you have $1,500 remaining at the end of the month your % savings for the month would look like this:

$ 1,500

$ 5,000= 30%

3Now let’s say last month your savings was $500 (10%) of your take home pay. That’s an extra $1,000!

23FINAL STEPS

So what do you do with that extra $1,000? Well you don’t spend it on everything you didn’t buy during shutdown, that’s for sure. Here’s some options for you:

-Open a Roth IRA or a brokerage account- Put towards a debt (credit cards, student loans, even your car)- Add it to your emergency reserve-Add it to your vacation fund or something else you’ve been planning and saving for

Now that you’ve gained an understanding of where your money goes and areas where you can cut back you’re ready to start shifting the way your family spends, how do you avoid the trap of overspending? Eddie and Rebecca tell you how:Typically, the most expensive day(s) for us are the weekends. That’s when we have more time to do fun things and that often equates to an expense here or there. Whether it’s a movie, round of golf, Home Depot or wherever you prefer to do-it-yourself, the days we spend outside of work are the priciest.

24So, how do we accomplish this?

1PAY YOURSELF FIRST

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o There are various opinions on this principalanddifferentwaysto“jazzitup,”butattheendoftheday,themostsuccessfulsaverssavefirst!o Themostcommonexampleofthisistosaveintoyourcompanyretirementplan.Ithappensbeforethepaycheckhitsyourbankaccount,andyoudon’tevenhavetothinkaboutit. SAVE CASH EACH MONTH

o There are various opinions on this aswell.Evenifyouultimatelyendupinvestingthiscash,it’simportantto save cash into a savings account (separatefromyourcheckingaccount)eachandeverymonth.Thisismoneythat is above and beyond your emergencyreservefund.o Thispreventsyoufromgettingtothepaychecktopaycheckmentality. Onequickexample;whilegoingthroughEconomicShutdown,wecaughtanailinthebacktireofourcar.Wehadtoreplaceit(obviously).Sincewehadn’talreadyspent,oralreadyobligatedeverydollartobespent,thiswasamereblipontheradarforthemonth.Thesearethetypesofthingsthattotallyderailaperfectlybudgetedmonth.Hence,theimportancetosavealittleextracashintoasavingsaccounteachmonth.

PRIORITIZE

o Weallhavethingsinourdailylivesthatwemustspendmoneyontolive,ourbills,rent,food,etc.butgoingthroughtheEconomicShutdownreallyhelpedhighlightwhatweneededandwhatwewanted. Oneexampleisthecablebill.It’s100%awant.RebeccaandIdidn’t“cutthecord”astheysay,butweareprettyclosetoit.However,mostpeopleItalktoaddthatintotheirmonthlybillsastheydothegasbillorpowerbill.It’sreallynot.oWhenweprioritize,ithelpsusdotwothings: 1.Ithelpsyouenjoytheexperience/utilityofwhatyou’vechosentospendthatdollarthatyouworkedhardtoearn. 2.Itwillultimatelyresultinyouspendinglesseachmonth.

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FORGET THE JONESESoNo,notyourneighborsJimandJane,buttheproverbialJoneses.KeepingupwiththeJonesesleadstomoreharmthangood.Everybodyhasauniquefinancialsituationinoneregardoranother…andit’salosinggametokeepup.OnethingIcanguarantee,therewillalwaysbesomeonericherthanyouandtherewillalwaysbesomeonepoorerthan you – sojustbeyou!

BE FLEXIBLE

o Don’tlet“moneystress”ruinalloflife’swonderfulexperiences.Ifyouspendtoomuchinonemonth,don’tbeatyourselfup.Justsavealittleextranextmonth.Wheremanypeoplegetintroubleistheyalwaysplanonmakingitupnextmonth.Thatshouldbetheexception,nottherule.

5WHAT CAN

DO ?

Wela aims to change the way people think about and manage their finances. We are a digital financial advisor which means we combine technology and traditional advisors to deliver financial planning tools and advice. It’s the ease and convenience of a robo-advisor but with the comfort and personalization of a real human advisor.

Wela allows you to see your full financial picture all in one account. Users have access to tools that help you manage your existing finances and plan for the future. Plus you have access to tons of original content like blogs, podcasts, and ebooks to help you on your journey.

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Who is Wela?

FEATURES:• Custom Game Plan written specifically for you buy a financial advisor

• 401k Asset Allocation

• Home Buying Calculator

• College Savings Tool

• Net Worth Tracking

• Affordable Investing with Wela Strategies

VISIT US AT: www.yourwela.com to get started

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CONGRATULATIONS you earned yourself a donut for reading through

and taking the cleanse!