by Angela Diggs

Created on: December 01, 2008

The first step to living within your means is finding out how much you bring home a month. This is the amount of money you earn after taxes each and every month. Once you find out this information it is time to know your expenses. Your expenses would be rent, electricity, food, cable, Internet and so forth.

Once you know this data you must determine whether or not you spend more than you make. For example, if you currently make only $2,000 a month, spending $3,000 is no good. Your job is to live within the amount of money you bring home. To find this out, I suggest keeping a written record of everything you spend for a month. This would include small purchases such as gum and everything in between. Keep the receipt and write down the date of purchase.

So now that you know what to do, what can you do today? Well, it is time for you to go into action mode. Basically what you should do is implement the steps I talked about above. Today what you need to do is find out exactly what your monthly income is. Get a pay stub of some sort to verify this information.

Next you determine what your monthly expenses are. The most important are food and shelter. The largest bill would be rent. This should be covered first. Then make sure you have enough money for food and water. The electric bill is next. When it comes to the cable, Internet and phone, these can wait. If you have a car note and insurance, make sure those are paid. It is best to go on a budget.

When you go on a budget, you put in the numbers. You estimate your monthly income to costs. When you are done, you should enter this data into a computer so it looks like a pie. Most of the money would go to the rent or mortgage. This is expected. Your budget should include the following. They are rent, food, electric, car, cable, Internet, phone, clothing and travel. This would be the basics.

When you are dealing with one source of income it is very essential to make sure your cash goes as far as it can. That is why saving should be involved with this budget. It is important to conserve a small amount of cash for a rainy day. One thing I did not mention on this article was to include saving in the budget. Before you take any money out for bills, you should pay God and yourself first. You see that is the key. Everything comes from God. You should give Him 10% of your paycheck. Once you do this, pay yourself a little something. This money should go right into a high yield savings account. Do this right away.

Controlling how much you spend is very important. You have to discipline yourself. You can not spend on impulse and expect to live within your means.

When you put God first in your finances, you have nothing to worry about. He will provide all of your needs. Overall to live within your needs know your exact income and control spending.

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