This is a trick that can help you break the habit of relying on  credit cards or raiding your savings account whenever a big annual or semi-annual expense comes up. Set up several high-yield savings accounts with one online bank and arrange for automatic deposits into those accounts on a regular basis.

If you automatically save a little money on a regular basis, it doesn’t take much to build up a good stash for when your big expenses come due. For example, if you arrange for a mere $25 a month to transfer from your checking account into your holiday gift fund each month, that’s much easier to manage than coming up with $300 all at once come December.

TRICK #8: Set long-term goals with a buddy.

One of our biggest enemies when it comes to making financial decisions is our short-term memory. We get impatient when our investment balances don’t grow as quickly as we’d like, or our friends seem to be having more financial success than we are. Or we just get tired of scrimping and saving and get the overwhelming urge for a splurge.

Getting a buddy for setting goals makes you responsible financially to more than yourself.

Keep your long-term goals in focus. Define your goals early on — such as saving for a down payment, starting a retirement fund or taking an annual vacation. Then set up plans to reach them and be sure to discuss your progress regularly. Having that accountability with someone (a spouse, best friend, family member, etc.) helps motivate you to stay on track.

TRICK #9: Ignore your annual raise or year-end bonus.

Expecting a raise this year? Pretend you’re not. By keeping your standard of living the same and not increasing your spending with each bump in pay, you can pocket the extra money and use it to reach your goals. The same goes for that year-end bonus or tax refund.

It only takes a few extra bucks to start your emergency savings, begin investing or pay extra toward your credit card debt. You could even use the money for something fun. Start stashing it in a vacation savings fund so you can afford to have a real travel adventure next year instead of the old crash-on-Mom’s-couch getaway.

TRICK #10: Give yourself a raise.

Not getting a raise this year? Take matters into your own hands. You could get hundreds of dollars added to your take-home pay each year simply by telling Uncle Sam not to take so many taxes out. Most of us give the government too much upfront — that’s why we get tax refunds in the spring.

Take back your money and use it throughout the year instead to help you make ends meet, boost your emergency savings or start investing for your future. All you need to do is file a new W-4 form with your employer to adjust your “withholding.”

Don’t think you have enough money to invest or make ends meet each month? Nearly everybody has some fat they can trim from their spending. Forgoing your $4 latte every day, for example, would save you about $120 a month.

Investing that money every month for ten years into an account earning 10% annually would net you nearly $25,000. Keep it up until retirement, and you’d have more than $765,000 in 40 years.

TRICK #2: Put your credit card on ice — literally.

You know your spending habits better than anyone; help yourself learn self-control.

When you’re trying to pay down your credit card debt, you’ll whittle away at it much faster if you avoid making any more charges in the meantime. To resist the temptation, think “out of sight, out of mind.”

Take your credit cards out of your wallet entirely. Stash them in the bottom of your sock drawer, or entrust them to a friend or relative for safekeeping.

You could even place them in a bag of water and throw it in the freezer — you’d have to wait for it to melt before you could use it, which would hopefully be long enough for your impulse to pass.

TRICK #3: Use cash for all your expenses.

Looking for a foolproof way to keep your spending under control? Try stashing cash in envelopes according to categories so you can see how much

you’re actually spending. For example, use one envelope for groceries, another envelope for gas and transportation, another envelope for eating out or entertainment, etc.

Then when you run out of money in each envelope, you simply don’t spend any more until next month. The so-called “envelope system” may sound corny or a little old fashioned, but it could be just the trick to keep you disciplined.

1. Gather every financial statement you can. This includes any bank statements, investment accounts, recent utility bills and any information detailing income or expenses. From these come up with a monthly average.
2. Record all of your sources of income. Record this total income as a monthly amount.
3. Create a list of monthly expenses. Write down a list of all the expected expenses you plan on incurring over the course of a month. This includes a mortgage payment, car payments, auto insurance, groceries, utilities, entertainment, dry cleaning, auto insurance, retirement or college savings and essentially everything you spend money on.
4. Total your monthly income and monthly expenses. If your end result shows more income than expenses you are off to a good start. This means you can prioritize this excess to areas of your budget such as retirement savings or paying more on credit cards to eliminate that debt faster. If you are showing a higher expense column than income it means some changes will have to be made.
5. Make adjustments to expenses. If you have accurately identified and listed all of your expenses the ultimate goal would be to have your income and expense columns to be equal. This means all of your income is accounted for and budgeted for a specific expense.If you are in a situation where expenses are higher than income you should look at your variable expenses to find areas to cut. Since these expenses are typically essential it should be easy to shave a few dollars in a few areas to bring you closer to your income.
6. Review your budget monthly. See what you did well and find out what you can do better on next month.

1-  Eat first. Don’t go to the store hungry, you will be tempted to buy more than you need.

2-  Choose the right store. If you like fresh produce find a store that sells the freshest fruits and vegetables (they will last longer and taste better.)

3-  Watch the scanner. Mistakes are easy to make, but you don’t want to have to pay for them. Be observant and watch the prices as they pop up on the screen.

4-  Don’t be afraid to try the store brand. I was pretty brand loyal to Kraft when it came to Mac and Cheese. I decided to have a taste test with a few different brands and see if it really was the best. I found that I liked the store brands almost just as much. Often you can’t even tell a difference.

5-  Live on the edge. All the healthful foods are on the outside perimeter of the store. Once you start going down the isles is where the processed foods are located. Stay healthier by living on the edge.

6-  Make a list. This will help you stay focus on the things you want and need. It will also help you plan and organize your meals.

7-  Make one big trip. Making a list is a key tool to help you achieve making one trip to the store. It will save you time not to mention money on gas.

8-  Know what you use. What type of foods do you eat or use often in cooking? Stock up on these items and buy in bulk when they are on sale. Items like flour, sugar, salad dressings, ketchup, syrup, egg/milk powder, cake mixes, etc. can be great things to have on hand and buy when you can get a bargain. 

Make a goal to become a better grocery shopper!

1- Sign up for a low-interest-rate first credit card with a smaller credit limit, usually around $500. I would recommend a student credit card. They are user friendly and are easier to qualify for your first time (since you don’t have any credit history)—and lots of times they even come with a free gift.

2- Only sign up for one credit card. This will make it easy to balance and organize your bills til you get used to managing your first credit card.

3- Pay your bills on time. Set an alarm on your cell phone or mark the date on your calandar, to remind you to pay your credit card bill. Always, pay at least the minmum amount owed for each month.

4- Don’t change your spending habits. Just because you have a shiny silver peice of plastic instead of a wrinkled up $5 bill does not mean that you should go crazy spending. Live within your means so that you can pay off your credit card each month.

Remember—CREDIT CARDS ARE NOT BAD. BUT, THEY CAN BE BADLY MANAGED. By following these tips you will be able to build your credit effectively in a way that will help you immensely in the future. Enjoy your first credit card experience!

How do you organize your bills? Here are a few simple tips:

1- GO THROUGH YOUR MAIL EVERYDAY. Don’t let mail pile up, just like your email, you need to open mail everyday. There may be things that need to be addressed right away and you don’t want to miss any deadlines!

2- PAY ALL OF YOUR BILLS AT THE SAME TIME. Make a specific time during the month to pay all of your bills in one sitting. The interest that you would make on paying bills right before they are due is not worth the stress of waiting. Doing it all at one time, will save lots of time because you will have out your checkbook, stamps, a pen, calculator, and the focus to get it all done in a timely manner. Giving you the peace of mind that all the bills are paid. 

3- CONDENSE CREDIT CARDS. By simplifying bills, organizing your bills becomes significantly easier. Limit the number of credit cards you own to 2-3, whenever possible.

Here are some steps to creating your budget spreadsheet:

1. Calculate what your family’s average total wages are after taxes.  Realizing this might change from month-to-month, just get as close as you can. Calcuate any other income you plan on receiving (perhaps through stocks or gifts), and then your total estimated income.
2. Now write down all the categories/places in which you spend money each month and how much you intend to spend in each one. Examples might include the following: food, mortgage or rent, utilities, transportation, debt payments, insurance, medical, clothing, school expenses, other, etc.
3. Include a section for savings.  It’s always important to be saving each month, even if it’s not a lot.
4. Calculate what you anticipate your total expenses to be
5. Then subtract your expenses from your income.  If you’re left with a negative number you need to see what you can cut back on.

A point I would make here is to be sure to budget some money for every item, even if you have no intention of spending that money.  A good example is medical.  You may think, “I have no reason to go to the doctor this month so I won’t budget any money for that.”  But when little Susie gets a cold and you didn’t set money aside for a doctor visit, then you are in trouble.  If you don’t use that money, transfer it over to next month’s budget or put it into savings.

Lastly, you must be disciplined.  Creating a budget worksheet will never help you if you don’t do your best to abide by it.  I hope these steps are helpful in creating your family budget and staying financially stable.