How many of you actually write down your expenses?  Do you know the balance of your checking, savings, credit card, and investment accounts?  If you're like the other 127% of the population you probably don't.  It's time for you to get yourself organized and actually find out the monthly costs of your daily lunch outings, booze, gas, entertainment, hair products, tanning sessions, and whatever else you do that is totally unecessary...except for booze.  Anyway, my point is if you haven't done it yet... start writing down everything that you spend and keep track of it for a month.  Create a necessities category with things like food, gas, rent, bills and then a pleasureable category that includes entertainment, golf, movies, bar receipts that you don't remember and other things of that nature.  If a number 2 pencil and wide ruled paper are too old school for you then check out mint.com where you can securely enter in all of your account info and check it all out on one simple page.  Seriously it's safe; if you're going to get your identity stolen it will be from someone stealing your credit card offers via snail mail or copying the magnetic strip on your debit card a the Lonestar Bar in Austin, TX.  "It's the best free way to manage your money."  You can quickly find out how much you're spending each month and what you're spending that cash on. 

Start appreciating the value of money.  If you make $10 bucks an hour think about the fact that you worked a half hour just to rent a movie or worked 2 hours to take a date to the movies.  Getting ColdStone afterwards bumps it up to 3 hours.  And that's before taxes.  Put things in perspective.  I'm not saying don't go have fun, just think about it and make sure the amount of money you have coming in every month is greater than the amount you're spending.  If this doesn't work then I advise you go on an all cash system.  Give yourself a predetermined amount of money each week in cash and when it's gone that means it's time to stay home and sit in time-out... or read this website.  Quit using that credit card.  Again, spend less money than you make, it's not rocket science... or even science...it's common sense.  It's the foundation to living a financially responsible life, yet Americans somehow manage to have a negative savings rate year after year.   Hear of the credit crisis?  Spend less than you make and you'll always have money.  Savvy that?

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