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Do you find yourself biting the bullet when an emergency comes around? Do you have to use the charge card for things that you just don't have the cash for and won't have the extra cash for months? Do you wonder where you money goes every time you side down to pay the bills? If you do, then you suffer from nonbudgetitis. That is my non medical term for not having a budget.

Do you want to start saving money, but don't know where that money is going to come from; then you need to do a one month evaluation of your spending habits.

First, don't change your spending habits for this month. Continue to do as you have always done, don't even think about it. The difference is keep an envelop with you, and give one to anyone else you live with to keep all receipts you accumulate every day. Then every night put all the receipts into an empty shoe box, or small plastic container with a lid.

After thirty days of diligently keeping all of your receipts go through the box. What you find is going to scare you. All of the drinks you purchase at the gas stations when getting gas. If you smoke the amount of money spent on cigarettes. All those lunches at fast food restaurants and take out. The grocery items that end up thrown away because they go bad too fast or you over purchased. Other things like impulse buys, the little packs of gum, key chains, or accessories that are sitting at the counter staring at us.

You are going to find a lot of little things that add up to a whole lot of money. It is always the little things that get us in the end. We don't think that little pack of ninety-nine cent gum is going to hurt our budget...until we buy $10 worth! We don't think that tube of lip gloss cost that much, but we are surprised to find out it cost $5 each and we purchased three during the course of the month.

Once you have seen where your money is going, it becomes much easier to budget and cut out the excess spending. Set up reoccurring bills, such as internet, cable/dish, electric, phone, and car insurance on automatic payments spread out through the month. Set aside what you need for your monthly mortgage or rent divided up with each paycheck. Then budget how much you need to spend on food, gas, and other necessities each week.

Once you have planned out what you need to spend every month; look at the total of your month income. How much is left over after your needs are met? If you have left over money you can do a few things with it. Put it in a savings account every week. Invest it in savings bonds, or other types of investments like stocks, CD's, IRA, or if your company has a 401k you can also add some extra from each check to that. There is also one other place that you can use as a savings account, Paypal. Many people don't realize that Paypal now gives you varying % a month on money in your account. This past month it was at 5%. Also if you get their debit card for the account you receive 1% cash back on any purchases.

So it is very important to understand were your money is going each month. If you can save money every month by cutting out little things you are likely not to miss, then after a year you might have enough to go on vacation. You will have extra money just in case there is an emergency too.

Learn more about this author, Jennifer Searle.
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