1. Check Register Tracking System (EB 50) Order now MSU Extension's most popular item! This special booklet fits inside your checkbook. Detailed instructions explain how to transform your own ordinary checkbook into a handy budgeting tool. (2002)(State Residents:   $1.00 per register)
   (Out-of-State Residents:  $2.00 per register)
   
   

• Check Register Description: Using a Check Register to Track Your Expenses [ORDER ONLINE]
  MontGuide fact sheet that accompanies Check Register Tracking System (above) to help you track expenses and be a more effective manager of your personal finances.  
  
  
• Credit Card Tracker [ORDER ONLINE]
  Limit credit card use to what you can pay off in total and avoid the minimum payments trap! This small credit card tracker can fit around any credit card. Includes a Record of Credit card debt. 
  
  
• Developing a Spending Plan [ORDER ONLINE]
  A spending plan helps reduce the need for consumer credit, save for things wanted and live within income. This MontGuide with worksheets will help you balance your income and expenses so that money is available for the things your family needs most. (2011) 
  • Record of Planned Spending Year Worksheet (Easy form that calculates for you-Excel) | (PDF)
  • Record of Actual Yearly Expenses Worksheet (Easy form that calculates for you-Excel) | (PDF)
    
    
• Helping Friends Cope with Financial Crisis [ORDER ONLINE]
  Understanding how to reach out to a friend experiencing a financial crisis can help you assist them during their time of need.  Knowing what resources are available can prepare you to help your friend and being aware of signs of depression can alert you to a friend's need for professional help. 
  
  
• How Much Debt is Too Much? (Fact Sheet) (PDF) 
  The amount of credit you can handle comfortably depends on your income, your living expenses, and your current debt obligations.  The size and lifecycle stage of people in the household will also influence your "debt comfort level." 
  
  
• Your Access to Free Credit Reports (Fact Sheet) (PDF) 
  The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies to provide free copy of credit reports once every 12 months. 
  
  
• Lending Money to Family Members [ORDER ONLINE]
  Analyzes not only the potential hazards of loaning money to relatives but reviews the tax implications and other legal aspects of the various options you have in making a loan, co-signing a loan, and designating a loan as a gift. 
  
  
• PowerPay
  A confidential and free money-saving service from Utah State University-Extension. Fill in the online information to compute the results yourself. 
  
  
• Schedule of Non-Monthly Family Living Expenses [ORDER ONLINE]
  Your monthly budget may seem lower than it really is if you forget to include annual or periodical expenses such as insurance, property taxes, or holiday gifts. This MontGuide includes instructions and a worksheet for establishing the true cost of your family's non-monthly living expenses. 
  
  
  • Schedule of Non-monthly Living Expenses Worksheet (Easy form that calculates for you-Excel) | (PDF)
    
    
• Talking With Aging Parents About Finances [ORDER ONLINE]
  Gives advice for dealing diplomatically with family finance issues 
  
  
• Using a Homestead Declaration to Protect Your Home from Creditors [ORDER ONLINE]
  By signing a legal document known as a homestead declaration, you can protect up to $250,000 in value of your home against creditors' claims. Homestead declaration forms are available at http://courts.mt.gov/Forms/endlife#69774126-forms 
  
  
  • Declaration of Homestead Form (PDF)
  • Declaration of Homestead Abandonment Form (PDF)