Start Here: Complete this challenge before proceeding

First things first: Creating a budget.

If you made it past the introduction post then you've already decided to save money and have set a goal for the use of that money.  If you aren't interested in saving money why are you still reading? 

So let's get started making a budget.  I can just hear the complaints starting to roll in.  But, honestly if you don't have a budget how will you know if you are saving money or not?  While it is possible to responsibly handle your money without a written budget it never hurts to track your expenses for a month or two just to see where your money is really going.

If you are married you need to be doing this together.  You married this person because you wanted to share your life with him/her.  How can you share your life with him/her if you do everything yourself?  This also spreads the responsibility between two people and eliminates any finger pointing when mistakes are made or when the kids don't get everything they want anymore.  If you are single it will be a bit easier because you get to decide how to spend your money.

Budgets are a way to tell your money what to do, rather than wonder where it all went.  At the end of the month you'll know exactly what happened and won't be stressing about whether to pay the credit card or the electricity because somehow the money disappeared from the bank account.  They are easy to create and to don't require much of anything.  You don't need a degree in accounting, math, or business to do it.  All you need are a piece of paper and a calculator.  Got those?  Let's begin:

1. The basic necessities of life are food, shelter, clothing, and transportation to/from work.  At the top of the page put your income, then subtract each of the essential items.  Remember for food and clothes, these are just enough to get by (think thrift store, not mall boutique).  Shelter is your mortgage/rent and utilities.  Transportation will be operating cost only (gas, insurance, and new tires). It will look something like this (these are arbitrary numbers, not based on actual experience):
   
    
2. Next will be other bills: health insurance, life insurance, car payment, credit card, student loan, HELOC, etc.  In our example I'm assuming health insurance and life insurance are taken out by the employer. 
   
3.  Using our sample above, you have $530 left to for charity, savings, recreation, eating out, gym membership, Netflix, etc. 

Wow!  Look at that, a budget in 3 simple steps.  See not so hard after all, on paper anyway.  In real life creating a budget is difficult the first few months, then it becomes routine.  The first budget meeting will not be easy if you've been coasting along in neutral and not paying attention to what you're spending your money on.  However, you'll attain your goal faster if everyone makes concessions and does their part.  Use these percentages as a basic starting point for your budget:

Charitable Gifts 10-15%
Savings 5-10%
Housing 25-35%
Utilities 5-10%
Transportation 10-15%
Food 5-15%
Clothing 2-7%
Medical/Health 5-10%
Personal 5-10%
Recreation 5-10%

Debt 5-10%

Good luck and feel free to share any advice on budgeting below.