Time to Take Control

So you've lost your job, taken a cut in your hours, or had a big salary reduction. If you're one of the hundreds of thousands of people in this position, you probably have a stack of bills sitting on one side of your computer (I prefer the left) and a bank statement on the other. If you're anything like me, you're probably terrified to look at either one of them, and maybe even cruising blogger to find something to distract you from your situation.

Sorry I'm letting you down on that front.

The bills are not going anywhere. They will still be there when you're done reading this post, and the stack will only get bigger from here. Pretty scary, huh? Even if you're not one of the people in this position, the prospect of ending up there is terrifying. There are a lot of good people in this world with bills that they would love to pay...if only they knew how.

The good news is that you are not helpless. A little planning and a little understanding can show you money that you never knew you had, and help those dollars stretch farther when you need them most. The simple fact is that people need to know how much money is coming in, how much is going out, and where it is going to. You need a budget.

Everybody knows that you need a budget to manage your money, right? WRONG! Consumer-action.org reports that over a third of US families do not use a budget to manage their finances. Some consumer advocacy groups rate that number at even higher! The word budget has become a scary word for a lot of people, and it doesn't have to be that way. For many, budgeting means coming to terms with your financial situation, denying yourself, scrimping and suffering. In actuality, budgeting is a tool that will allow you to make smart choices and be in control.

That's right, budgeting is all about choices. Once you track your expenses, you can decide what is important to you and how to make those important things happen. Would you rather have those designer label things, or nice furniture? Would you rather have your daily latte, or six hundred dollars extra for the holidays? Would you rather order take out for lunch all week, or take a vacation? Expense tracking is about making choices, even if some of us have more choices than others. If your two pack a day habit is coming between you and paying the electric bill, don't you want to know?

If you're one of the readers sitting at your computer surrounded by bills, your time is now. Whether you use an online program, a printable worksheet, a computer program, or a notebook, you can't afford to wait. Get started on filling out that budget now, and take a long and hard look at where your money is going.

If you're not in trouble yet or don't know where your dough goes, there's another easy method. Simply take a manila envelope and write the the following words on it: DID YOU SPEND MONEY TODAY? Scribble today's date somewhere on the bottom. Then take that envelope and tape it to your refrigerator, inside your front door, to your car's dash, or wherever you have to put it to remind yourself. Every time you spend money for the next month, you need to put a receipt of some kind in that envelope. Whether it's your rent check stub, or a sticky note for the five bucks you loaned a friend, put it in the envelope.

At the end of the month, what you learn about yourself may surprise you.