You will need to save money to reach your financial goals. To save money, you will need a plan to show what money comes in and what money goes out. This is known as a budget. You may already have a budget you follow, or you may feel you don't need one because you pay all your bills. A budget helps you become a conscious spender as you make deliberate choices about how you will put your money to work for you. One choice you will learn about this week is your tax withholding from your paycheck.

Reflect on how you manage your money as you work through this week's information. Do you use a manual process (e.g., writing things down)? Do you use an app or tool from your bank or another source? How do you know if you will have enough money for an upcoming bill? How do you plan for variable expenses, such as a vacation or gifts?

Respond to the following:

• Look at a current or past paycheck for your personal withholding information. How can the amount of your tax withholding affect your budget or financial goals?
• Consider your personal savings rate. Use the information in Section 2.2 of your zyBooks textbook to calculate your saving ratio. How does it align with your targeted saving rate by age? What aspects of your finances are affecting your saving ratio? What changes could you make to improve your savings ratio?