Make a Budget

• To make a budget which accurately reflects the monthly flow of money through your household, you only need your bills and a piece of paper. Make a list of all of your consistent sources of income and the amounts you receive from each. Make a similar list of regular monthly expenses which include rent/mortgage, savings, electricity, phone, credit card bills, groceries and anything else you pay for. Your list of expenses should also include any insurance premiums divided into a monthly amount.
  
  Add up the totals for both your monthly income and expenses. If your income is greater than your expenses, then your budget is working for you. If, however, your expenses are running more than you are earning in a month, you need to take a look at your expenses and find where you can make cuts.
  
  

Cut Expenses

• Cutting your budget is never easy, but it is more often than not a necessity. Take the time now to sort your expenses based on wants and needs. Your needs will be the obvious items such as housing, electricity, water, telephone, groceries and your monthly savings. Wants include items such as cell phones, cable or satellite TV, entertainment, and regular vanity expenses such as clothing, hair and nails.
  
  Even though food is a need, your groceries can be split into needs and wants as well. Doing away with wants--the occasional soda at the gas pump, the latte before work, or filling the grocery cart with chips--can cut your budget significantly. The amount of difference between your expenses and income will tell you exactly how much you need to cut.
  
  

Find Income

• If you've cut all of the expenses you can and still find your expenses total more than your income, then you'll need to explore a way to earn more income. Start with your current job and see if you're eligible for a raise. Or perhaps a part-time job in your spare time can bring in what you need. See if anyone in your neighborhood needs a baby sitter on your day off. Think outside the box.
  
  You can also look at whether or not you have items you can sell online or at a yard sale to give you some temporary relief until you can find more consistent income.