Personal Finance?

Any suggestions for building my own budget, and paying off debts?

Determine the amount of money you have available each month - net pay from all sources.

Determine the cost of living - home - utilities - groceries - debts - etc.

Take 10% off the top & put it into a savings account with the goal of getting your savings to equal about 6 months of income.

Now - your goal is to begin aiming higher payments towards the higher interest rate debts you have. Reduce them one by one.

Make a pledge to pay cash from this point on.

Get rid of all but one charge cards. Close those lines of credit with the lender so you will not be tempted.

Now ... for a month or two - write down EVERY thing you spend. McDonalds? $3.98 - write it down! Newspaper? $1.25 - write it down! Movie? write it down. You get the picture. You will be surprised at what you spend and where your money is going!

Cut back on expense you can. Eat in vs. eating out.

Change left over at the end of the day in your pocket - put it aside daily & then as it accumlates - deposit it into your savings account.

Become debt free .... and smile all the way to the bank!

Good luck.

Keep track of your spending for a month, and use that as an average for your expenses. Then have a look at your monthly income. If expenses are greater, you need to cut down on buying one or more of your expenses. Adjust as necessary until your income exceeds your expenses with some left over for savings.

Yes, ask on craigslist.

The format is more condusive to long detailed explanations.

When you ask your question, try to include the actual numbers that will allow people to give you the answwers that will help you.

As a pre-budget, you need to list all your expenses to give you a good idea of your "before" picture of your spending habvits. However, your working budget is not so much a record of WHAT you spend money on now, but rather a guiding document that shows you what you MUST spend money on to reach your goals.