Try the Envelope System to keep Control of your Finances
This has been around a long time, and was popular when people used to get paid by cash, or just went to the bank once a pay.
Get out some plain envelopes and label them as follows:
-Groceries
-Travel (fuel, bus money, subway etc)
-Spending cash (entertainment,including meals out)
-Gifts and other
Work out how much you can afford each week for each of these catagories, or choose catagories that represent your life, the above are just suggestions to get you started..
When you get groceries or gas or eat out, take the money out of the appropriate envelope and put in the receipt afterwards. The purpose of this exercise, is to get to the end of the week before you run out of money.
By doing things this way, you are able to see right away where your money is going, and you may have to trade off here and there to make it work. Example you need more fuel, then spend less on gifts and other that week. This way you make the budget work, and you stay away from credit cards and debit cards. You make the cash system work, and you will feel in control.
Do you remember, when you were a kid, when you got your allowance, you had to make choices based on the money in your hand. You either bought that goodie now, or saved up a couple of allowances for something bigger. You didn't have credit cards and limitless banking machines. You had to save up for it.
This is just a suggestion, and it is a simple budgeting tool, that you may find helpful. We have all become so used to bank machines on every corner, and credit cards, and with our busy lives, we just don't realize how much we can spend on bank fees alone (with all those withdrawals) and interest on the credit cards.
If you allow yourself set amounts for the expenses you can control, and have your fixed expenses (such as rent, mortgage, car payment etc) automatically deducted from your bank, then you will see where you stand, and you can figure out if you need to make more money, or if you just need to watch the money you have a bit closer!
Always allow some money for some fun, after all, we need some rewards for working this hard, but just make sure its something you can afford and fit into your pay. But do something, even if it is just renting a movie or getting a ice cream cone instead of dinner out, just being aware and working with your money is most of the battle, and you will feel much better for it.