Money Management Tips Anyone Can Use

While I can't speak for everyone here at AC, I know that I am here to earn a few pennies to help stretch the budget. Staying at home with my son means no steady income, and paying the bills off the meager salary my husband brings in.

Sometimes, it's not very easy to make sure that all the bills are paid, that I have gas in the car, groceries in my cabinet, and still have money left over for the other essentials I seem to always forget to factor in. It's always and nearly impossible to ensure that I have surplus money for entertainment.

So, I know that with the bind I'm in that I can't be the only one and I want to offer my advice on the budgeting issue.

First, come up with a master budget. Factor in all the money you have coming in, and estimate low in case of a paycheck shortage. Study, study, and study this master budget so that you can be sure to have included all the bills and necessities to avoid falling victim to coming up short, or spending the extra money you thought you had, only to realize later that you owe something else.

I always budget a certain amount of money for groceries. Then, I try to always come in under budget so that when I do, I have extra money to save toward something else, or for a rainy day fund. I over budget for gasoline, and limit my travel to conserve gas. Sometimes the over budgeting has left me with money in my pocket, and others has saved me panic when the gas prices shot up. That's a hard one to budget and can throw a crimp in at anytime, so that's another reason to always over budget.