Tips on How to Save and Budget Money

Unless you budget your money, you're practically inviting unnecessary debt into your life, and making it impossible to save. These money steps will help you figure out what money is supposed to go where so you can control your spending accordingly.

Steps and Tips on How to Save and Budget Money

Create a budget every time you get money. For most people, this is once every two weeks. Sometimes it's weekly, sometimes it's monthly. Either way, it's a regular interval, and it's the best time to decide how you're going to spend your money. Make it a rule that you don't spend any of your paycheck money until you've worked out your budget.

 Make a list of all the things you'll need to pay for until the next paycheck, such as:

• Rent/mortgage
• Utilities
• Vehicle payments, insurance, maintenance (e.g. oil changes, tire rotations)
• Debt (credit card payments, student loans, doctor's bills)
• Gas
• Tuition, school supplies
• Food/groceries
• Health insurance

 Anticipate how much you'll need to pay for each and write that amount next to the corresponding item on the list. You can also opt to pay for a fraction of something that isn't going to be due until after the next paycheck. For example, if your rent is $800 due on June 1, you just got paid $700 on May 12, and your next paycheck will be $700 on May 26, it may be wise to set aside $400 from this paycheck for rent so that you only need to take $400 out of your next paycheck to pay for rent.