Budgeting: Expert Guides and Resources

You probably hate the idea of a household budget. However, a budget is a basic and important money-management tool for getting out — and staying out — of debt. So, if you’re serious about improving the state of your finances and avoiding future problems, you need to lose your antibudget bias. ©Peopleimages.

Shopping can often feel like a black hole on your finances. Money goes in and disappears into a vacuum. Every time you step into a grocery store or discount department store, you may feel like you’re out of control and you come out flat broke. ©06photo / Adobe StockTo prevent your shopping trips from turning into guilt trips, take time to think about how you can spend more thoughtfully.

Saving money can be as simple as 1, 2, 3, as you'll see in these 5 quick and easy approaches to managing your personal finances. 1. Reduce the Amount of Times You Go Out to Eat Going out to eat often can put a major crunch on your budget. By simply cooking a few meals at home, you can save a significant amount of money on a monthly basis and eat healthier.

Use this Cheat Sheet as a quick way to determine which budgeting method you want to try. It also has tips to help you create a successful budget you can stick to.Taking the first steps for any budgetBefore you begin to explore any budgeting method, you should know your monthly income (after taxes). Then make a list of all your fixed and variable expenses.

You don’t have to sweat out the dog days of summer, even when cutting back on your awesome, home-cooling air conditioning to save money. You can stay cool, even when it’s hot outside. ©Shutterstock/PR Image Factory Add insulation to your home. First insulate your attic floor, and then when time and money allow, add insulation to your basement, exterior walls, floors, and crawl spaces (in that order).

How can you save for retirement when you need all your income to make ends meet now? What do you do when college loans come due and money is tight? How can you trim back household expenses?When the economy is down, you can still save money without sacrificing your quality of life. Every little change you make to your finances can help.

After you determine your actual spendable income, you can focus on how that remaining money needs to be spent. The first step to creating a budget is to sort expenses into three categories: needs, wants, and luxury items. But how do you distinguish between the three? © i-frontier / iStockphoto.com What qualifies as a need can sometimes be blurry.