by CE Wynn

Created on: January 24, 2008   Last Updated: February 14, 2008

Managing your finances can be overwhelming for some, and just plain boring for others, however, there are secrets to managing your own finances that anyone can use and it not really that hard.

1. Your Attitude

The most important is your attitude towards money. Do you spend it the day you get it in the bank, to realize by the end of the week there is nothing left? If the answer is yes, then its time you had a reality check and change your attitude about money.

So change your attitude now, keep reading and see how you can improve your financial position.

2. Where are you Now

The next step in organizing your finances is to know your current financial position. Detail, all your debt and any assets your own, keeping in mind that assets are only those items that are increasing in value or your earning an income from.so the car and TV are not items to include.

4. Set Some Goals

If you don't have a goal or target in mind, losing interest is likely. So set some realistic goals for your financial future. It might be saving for an overseas holiday, to trying to reduce your credit card debt.

No matter the goal, its worth writing them down and keeping it somewhere safe to remind you why your going to all this trouble in the first place.

5. The Plan

You know where you are and where you want to be, now its time to create your budget and work out how to achieve your goals.

You may be interested in looking at a software package to assist you with this process, Quicken and Microsoft Money are the most common products on the market today. However, if you don't feel you have the cash to spend, have a look around on the internet, there is a huge range of easy to use spreadsheets that can help you with this process.

The first step in developing a budget is to know what money is coming in. So look at your income, how much do you get and how often. Is it a regular source of income or does it fluctuate? If it's the latter, look at setting a base income your guaranteed to earn, and add to it when required, a great bonus to go towards your goals.

Determining your outgoings is usually the more difficult part of the job. Firstly, make a note of all your expenses that you have to make, such as min repayments on loans, rent, mortgage repayments and food shopping, and the frequency of these expenses. Don't forget annual expenses such as car registration, insurance and private health care.

Next look at those additional expenses that you probably don't need to survive, but would like to keep as a little

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