Share the Responsibility

Keep Your Receipts

Cut Bad Habits

Balance Your Checkbook

Remain Flexible

Pay Down Debt

Focus on Savings You have a big expense coming up．You need a better car，or a bigger home，or you want to go back to college．What do you do?Borrow，borrow，borrow--right?Well，maybe not．If you’ve created a budget，you know exactly how much money you have coming in，and how much is going out．You can make some plans concerning that big expense．But if you don’t have a budget plan，you probably don’t have a very good picture of your finances，and you may be tempted to borrow more money rather than squeezing all you can from your income． It’s definitely better in the long run——for you and for your money—to have a budget． By now，you’ve set up your budget．You know how much money you have．But you could still use some help staying on budget．Here are some tips that can help you stick to your budget and get ahead on that major purchase：Determine the amount of your budget that you can afford to save each month．Have it direct—deposited to your savings account，or to your mutual fund．Wherever you decide to keep your savings，make sure you put money into it every month．That savings will make a big difference for you later． Whether it’S alcohol or tobacc0，if you use much of either，you know how expensive bad habits can be．Stop smoking and drinking，and put the beer／cigarette money toward your other expenses．You’ll see your bills come down--and feel your health improve--in no time．You’ll also save on health care expenses down the road，and you may become eligible for lower insurance premiums． Make sure you’re not the only member of your household concerned about your budget．If you’re working hard to save money，but your spouse is out spending you into debt，you’re fighting a losing battle．Sit down together and make a plan to determine how much spending money you should each have．Then，check in every week to see how well you’re doing．If the entire family shares the responsibility for the budget，everyone can cut back just a little and make a big difference．One person shouldn’t have to shoulder the entire burden alone． If you have credit card debt，you may feel like it’s going to take forever to pay it off．But you can get ahead by choosing one card--ideally，the one with the highest interest rate—and paying as much as you can on it every month．If you have other cards，pay the minimum balance on those until you’ve paid off the first card．Then，choose the next card and pay extra on it while you pay minimums on the others．If you Pay only the minimums on all your cards，yon’ll be paying a lot more in interest than you may realize． You probably monitored your expenses for several weeks to make a budget.Once the budget is made，though，it can be tempting to stop keeping up with every little expense．But keeping track really can help you stick to your budget．Save your receipts，and write down the places you spend money．You’ll be less likely to overspend if you realize how much money has actually gone through your hands． __________