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Looking to survive financially in todays economy? Do you wonder where all your hard earned money has gone at the end of the day or week (maybe month)? Do you sometimes ask yourself, I know I had $20, now what and where did I spend it? It’s never to late to experience the fantastic feeling of knowing you have CONTROL over your money and spending.

Here is a super quick and simple way to get started in knowing what and where your money has gone. It will be a surprise when you get it all on paper. Start by writing down what and where you have spent money each day. You have to start here, so that you know specifically where every penny is going; then you will be able to identify what is being wasted and what is truly a required expense at this time. Tracking what you spend with all the sources of payment (cash, credit cards, check) is necessary when taking CONTROL over your money.

Have you ever found out at the end of the month that you overspent, again, and you now have to figure out how to pay off that balance or pay a past due bill? Usually when or if this happens, it becomes a very painful and stressful event, not something any of us need today or any day.

Take Control of your MONEY NOW.

Above was a quick and less formal way to start taking control. Once you have that information, then you should begin grouping expenses into categories and summarizing the known expenses you pay each month. You can then use this list of categories and sub-categories below as a guide.

Most Used Expense Categories and (sub categories):

* Home (mortgage, rent, insurance, maintenance, etc.)

* Utilities (electric, water, gas)

* Transportation (vehicle payment, vehicle insurance, maintenance,public transportation, etc.)

* Medical (health, dental, vision, etc.)

* Debt (credit cards, consumer loans, personal loans, etc.)

* Food

* Family

* Insurance (disability, life, etc.)

* Entertainment (eating out, movies, sporting events, etc.)

* Pets (food, vet, preventive medicines, boarding, etc.)

* Clothing

* Miscellaneous

* Investments and Savings

* Donations

In reviewing your list of known expenses, can any categories be eliminated? Are there categories that you need to add? Most of the details and information needed you can find by reviewing the past two to three months of your credit card statements, checkbook register, and bank statements.

Once you have done the above, it is time to organize the data in a simple spreadsheet: Categories get listed on each row of the spreadsheet and then label the columns across for each month (or each week - if you want more details and control). Then take the 2 or 3 months of data and enter it into the form. Now you have a starting place to begin tracking what you spend each month.

For this to work and for you to take full CONTROL of your spending, it will mean you must start keeping track of all your spending, keeping receipts and not letting any dollar go un-tracked. You need to know how much you spend on everything. You need to know where every penny of your money is going, even the cash paid for that cup of coffee or can of soda.

Be sure to carefully evaluate your results, you’ll most certainly find the areas where you are possibly overspending and then take the necessary steps to taking back complete CONTROL of where every penny of your hard earned money goes. You have also developed your personal budget information, a starting point for having a working budget to plan and track your future income and expenses in a money management system. So, It’s Up to You…Take CONTROL today.

To Your Success In All That You Do and Dream Of…