How to Manage your Income and Save Money

During the recession all of us are looking for ways to save money and live a little bit more under our means. It can be hard to manage your income when we have been brought up in a society of entitlement and money management was secondary to "gotta have it now". After some simple steps of getting your finances in order and making sure your expenses are lower than your income, saving money will be easy.

Instructions

1




Personal money management is about being organized and the easiest way to do that is with money management software. There are many great programs out there, some free and some not. They range from the simple to the very complex, so shop around and chose one that is right for your personality. If you are a structured person, you will feel better with more detailed software, while if you are more unstructured, a simpler program might be better.

2

Pay down your debt. After your necessities like food and shelter, paying down your debt is very important. It affects your credit score, and just as important, the interest is so high, paying the minimum might not even cover the interest! There is also debt management software and great online debt consolidation sites.

3

Find a way to make some extra money. If you have some extra time or recently got laid off, there are many great ways to earn quick money online. Write articles for eHow. Sign up for the writer's compensation program and start writing a few articles everyday about things that you know. With a few articles you could pay your bills every month or your gas money etc. Also, sign up for bukisa, hubpages, cashcarate, ecrater and start putting time in making money online. These are all reputable sites and can earn you income while your at home.

4




Figure out ways to cut some of your spending. Do you eat out 5 times a week? Cut it down to 2 times a week. Making your own tacos at home or chicken is very cheap and a lot more healthy than eating out. Try saving money on your cable bill by getting rid of channels that you don't need. Do you have a landline phone that you never use? Get rid of it. Do you have a big car loan? Sell that depreciating asset and get a smaller more gas efficient older car. You will save a ton on insurance, gas, and depreciation of the vehicle.

5




Once you have gotten expenses under your income, put your savings into a bond or 6 month t-bill. This keeps you from spending the money because it is locked up and will earn a little bit of interest as well. For those of you that are impulse buyers, managing your money will be easier if you can't spend it.

6

See a CPA about personal finance management. They manage money for a living so they will be able to give you an outside view on your expenses. If you already have a CPA do your taxes, just sneak in some questions about your finances. These people get excited just talking about numbers so it would be some great advice.