How can a budget help you with your personal finances?

By creating a personal budget one can help keep track of monthly expenses and avoid money tracking problems. Here are a few tips:

A. Determine what your monthly income is;

B. Determine what your regular monthly bills amount to; ( hopefully A. covers B. or we are in trouble already )

C. In your check book make sure you register each check you write and note the amount, to whom, and what the check was payment for;

D. If you can afford it, mark down how much savings you wish to set aside each month; even a small amount is ok;

E. When your monthly checking account statement from your bank arrives check it against the checks you wrote; and

F. If the checks do not balance with the checks you wrote, recheck it. If there is still a problem, call up your bank and find out how they can help.