by Wendy Mackrell

Created on: January 14, 2008

Make every cent count and start letting your money work for you. Even on a small fixed income you can put strategies together to have a realistic budget you can stick to. Five tips to set in place before you fix your budget:

*Be realistic...don't cut back on all the things you enjoy. Just prioritize which to keep and which ones you can use as short term goal rewards along the way.

*Be honest...don't pretend to spend less on paper than you do in reality on certain things. Being honest with yourself and accepting you may have problem areas means you are well on the way to fixing the problem. If you need financial counseling get it. There are community based and Internet options that cost nothing.

*Be positive...don't assume it's too late for you to start budgeting. Of course, starting as soon as you have your own income is preferable. But often we aren't taught good financial habits, and we learn the hard way. Starting a budget at anytime will take a great deal of pressure off.

*Be Active...sitting around thinking about all the things you might be doing if you weren't running to a budget will make it hard to stick to. Find some fun ways to get active and participate in life. Not everything cost money to do. Look for volunteer positions and local outdoors and sports groups.

*Be Selfish...always set a little aside in a savings fund, for yourself, that you can't get to without a cool down period. Some banks run a seven day notice account. This gives you seven days before you can withdraw money. It helps to stop the impulse spending. Or a Christmas club gives you the lump sum just before the holiday season.

Track ALL of Your Spending
Once you have the right mindset, it's time to record all of your spending habits. Doing this over the course of a week helps pick up the little things we may not notice. There are always set bills to be paid. Like electricity and phone, rent or mortgage, maybe a loan or credit card. Food, entertainment, a lotto ticket.

Work Out Your Averages
The best way is to work out what your average spend per year is on utilities, and work out how much your set payments work out to per week, each. The think hard about how much you spend on food, and general living expenses. Don't try an think about places to cut back yet. That will come later. Just get it all out in the open, and down on paper in front of you.

Identify Needs and Wants
Needs and wants can come in many forms. For instance, food is a need, but the weekly take out may not be. Again Budgeting can

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