No not budgeting! We all hate the "B" word. Budgeting is hard. Making a budget is boring! Budgets don't work!
If you believe any of those statements about budgeting, read on.
If you want to avoid personal bankruptcy, you need a budget. And you need a simple budget so that you can stick to it.
A budget is simply a list of what you make and what you spend. That's it. That's a budget. It's just a list. Why is that scary?
So get a piece of paper, and make a list of everything you spend money on. Or, use your computer to create a Personal Budget Spreadsheet.
To keep it simple, use one column, or one page, for every time you get paid. If you get paid weekly, you should have a column for every week. If you get paid every two weeks, then divide your expenses up every two weeks.
If you get paid twice per month, and your rent is $1,000 per month, then your budget will have two columns per month, and will show $500 for rent in each column. If your landlord will let you pay your rent twice a month, life is easy. If not, leave $500 in the bank after this paycheck, so that the money is there next paycheck when you pay your rent, just like your budget says!
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