Get Started Managing Your Money
Terry J. Rigg
There are literally thousands of articles about how you should
or should not manage your money. Myself and other well
intentioned money saving wizards bombard you with ideas of all
that you should be doing. However, if you are behind two
payments on your mortgage or rent, credit card debt up to your
ears or there is a tow truck waiting outside to repossess your
car, not much of what we say really seems to fit your situation.
This article will attempt to give you some guidelines to help
you get started no matter what your situation. The steps are
fairly simple. Access the Situation, Damage Control, Find a
Way and Get on Track are just 4 steps that you will need to
take quickly.
Access the Situation
Sit down with a piece of paper and a pencil and find out where
you are now. No I'm not talking about a budget yet. Many
people never take the time to get a picture of what they have
coming in compared to what they have going out. On the left
side of the paper put down any income you have. Only consider
take home money because this is all that matters to you right
now. On the right side of the paper write down all of the
bills that you have coming out this month. At the bottom of
the paper, put down any bills that are past due with the dollar
amount needed to bring them up to date. Now total everything.
Then subtract your bills from your income. If there is anything
left over after bills, deduct what it will cost you for food
and other necessities for the month.
Damage Control
If you are behind on your bills or just don't have enough money
left after bills to buy what you need, something has to be done.
This is where you have to set priorities. The first step is to
eliminate anything you don't absolutely need. Some good
examples of this are things like call waiting and other extras
on your phone bill, selling that second car unless it is needed
to earn income or stop eating out.
Here is a priority list of how you need to spend your money if
you are behind:
1. Groceries and necessary health items
2. Mortgage or rent
3. Utilities
4. Other bills such as installment loans or credit cards
Notice that the above list adressess your basic needs, food,
water and shelter, first.
Your next step is to call your bill collectors and let them
know about your situation. I guarantee hiding from them will
only make things worse. Let them know you can't pay them. Most
important is to tell them you are working on the situation and
will keep them informed. You will be surprised how many will
work with you.
If you can't seem to get control of this on your own, consider
contacting a free credit counseling service. You can find
Consumer Credit Counseling Service at www.credit.org. They can
make arrangements for you to pay them a set amount each month to
be distributed to your bill collectors.
Find A Way
The fact is that you need to get your finances in order, if for
no other reason than your sanity. You can do one of two things
to help with the problem. Increase your income or decrease your
spending. While there are several ways to increase your income,
they don't necessarily help. Let's take the example of getting
a second job. You have extra expenses such as transportation,
extra taxes, food, etc. that will cut deep into what you make.
Your best bet is to decrease your spending. You can start by
visiting my web site, The FREE Budget Stretcher Newsletter at
http://www.homemoneyhelp.com. When you subscribe, you will find
links to several hundred sites that provide ways to cut your
spending. Here is a list of other sites that can help:
TheFrugalShopper.com
http://www.thefrugalshopper.com
GreedyFools.com
http://www.savingadvice.com
BetterBudgeting.com
http://betterbudgeting.com
Debt Smart
http://www.DebtSmart.com
Freebie Haven
http://www.121fun.com
The Stay-At-Home Parents Page
http://www.thestayathomeparentspage.com
Brighter Futures
http://www.brighterfutures.com
FreelanceByU
http://www.freelancebyu.com
Tidbits from the Pantry
Usave2day.com
http://www.usave2day.com
MoneyMakingMommy.com
http://www.moneymakingmommy.com
You Save On Taxes.com
http://hop.clickbank.net/?terryrigg/wmdctp
I have chosen these sites because all of the information is free.
I can almost guarantee that these sites will have what you need.
Get on Track
After you have looked into all of the above, it is time for a
budget. The last thing you need is a budget that takes most of
your time just to manage. I have developed a simple, easy to
use budget system that will take very little of your time. It
will also help organize your bill paying. You can find The
Complete Budget and Bill Organizer at
http://www.homemoneyhelp.com/BBOonline.html. This organizer is
free. Whether you use my budget or someone elses, you must
establish a budget and stick to it.
If you are reading this article, chances are you have a computer.
Use it to find other ideas to help you manage your money. Try
searching key words like: money saving, budget help and credit
help.
About the Author
Terry Rigg is the author of Living Within Your Means - The Easy
Way http://www.homemoneyhelp.com/ebookadpage.html and editor
of The FREE Budget Stretcher Newsletter and Budget Stretcher
web site http://www.homemoneyhelp.com. He has 25 years of
experience counseling individuals and families concerning their
personal finances.
