It's not what you're probably thinking... it's BUDGET
I am as reluctant as anyone to make and stick to a budget, but I'm going to try... again. The first thing I have done is keep track of all my spending for the last 90 days.
I found a free site that will link all of my banks, accounts and credit cards and it's working pretty well. I have been using mint.com. There are others out there like it. Check with your bank, some offer similar sites for free. The hardest part was going back through the last 90 days and categorizing all of my transactions. It took a little while to familiarize myself with my accounts and transactions, but I have it all organized now and it's working great! Remember to go back in regularly to label new transactions.
There are other budget tools out there. You can search them online. Be careful that a site is secure before you enter your personal information.
For years I have also used an excel spreadsheet to log all of my monthly payments. This comes in handy in knowing what is due each month, helps you to see where your money goes and even serves as a notice if a bill is lost in the mail. Simply list all of your payments along the left of the page and the months Jan - Dec across the top. Be sure to leave some blank spaces to add payments you might have forgotten or new ones that come along. Be sure to include your mortgage/rent, utilities, credit cards, loans, anything that you pay regularly. Simply pull it out each time you pay bills. I keep mine in a small pencil box where I put all of my bills when they come in the mail.
Now comes the hard part... sticking to it!
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