by Mario Carini

Created on: June 11, 2010

Many people go through life struggling to make ends meet. Their dreams and aspirations never become reality. And one of the reasons they don't is because they never create a personal budget.

Life is hectic. But it doesn't need to become the excuse for not creating a family budget. In fact, creating a budget is absolutely in today's uncertain economic climate.Without knowing where the money is being spent, it's impossible to plan for a financial secure future.

Budgeting isn't rocket science. Though it should be learned by every child old enough to add and multiply, it's neglected in many schools. The basics of a budget can be broken down into this one point: If your expenses exceed your income, you're headed for trouble.

So how can you get started with a budget?

* Track Your Expenses. Of course you need to have enough to cover those necessary expense of taxes, insurance, mortgage and utilities, but it's easy to miss where all that loose change goes. Those little and daily expenses can burn a hole into your pocketbook even if you are careful about everything else. You may feel they're not worth following, but they add up when multiplied as the days, months and years go by. The morning coffee, the daily paper and those snacks at the vending machine are seldom tracked.

* Trim the Fat. That means those expenses you can live without. Chances are those calling features or your phone are seldom used. Your busy lifestyle means that you don't have the time to watch the thousand channels that come with you cable and satellite service. Many other wasters include:

-Book club and video memberships

-Paying for both a land line and cell phone when you could do without the telephone.

-Banking services like overdraft protection and check writing privileges.

-Gym memberships you don't use

-Eating out less often.

-Renting movies instead of hitting the theater to watch the latest blockbuster along with the added popcorn, soda and chocolate.

Cutting out the fat may seem hard to do, but it becomes easier with practice.

* Save the Change and Stash the Money.  Saving can be fun. Money is power. It makes the world go round. What you don't want it to do is make your head spin around with worry when you don't have enough of it to pay the bills. Money's power is significantly diminished when it goes to frivolous things that don't increase the real value of the money spent. The money spent on credit diminishes significantly when interest costs are factored in.

* Create an emergency fund. Emergencies will happen and strike anytime. Most families have no money available when disaster strikes. They have trouble setting aside savings for that comfortable retirement, let alone an emergency fund. But having money readily available in case something does happen provides peace of mind and insure that the lifestyle isn't unduly affected. The problem with many people is that they view the power of money for what it can buy. Wealthy people see money in a different light. They see it as a resources, so if they must spend it, it must provide a decent return on their investment. Furniture, a new car every three years don't provide a return. A savings plan with investments make money grow in value.

The best use of money is to save as much as you can. A personal budget can help you reach goals faster. Good investments pay off eventually. Once you've discovered how much you can actually cut, saving becomes easier and your financial worth will increase. Money makes no distinction where it goes. That means that you have the power to attract it or repel it.

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