Personal Finance News Thursday 1/17

Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the Day:

10 steps to making a financial budget

Learn how to budget by following these 10 steps on how to bring your spending under control.

From CNN Money.com

1. Budgets are a necessary evil.

They're the only practical way to get a grip on your spending - and to make sure your money is being used the way you want it to be used.

2. Creating a budget generally requires three steps.

- Identify how you're spending money now.
- Evaluate your current spending and set goals that take into account your long-term financial objectives.
- Track your spending to make sure it stays within those guidelines.

3. Use software to save grief.

If you use a personal-finance program such as Quicken or Microsoft Money, the built-in budget-making tools can create your budget for you.

4. Don't drive yourself nuts.

One drawback of monitoring your spending by computer is that it encourages overzealous attention to detail.

Once you determine which categories of spending can and should be cut (or expanded), concentrate on those categories and worry less about other aspects of your spending.

To read the entire article from CNN Money:
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/money101/lesson2/index.htm

Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:

Most people have the will to win, few have the will to prepare to win. -Bobby Knight

Hi my name is Philip J. Miano and I am the founder of PJM Personal Finance and Productivity Coaching specializing in Budgeting, Debt Reduction, Bank Reconciliations, Goal Setting, Time Management, and Organizational skills. Please visit my website: http://pjmcoaching.com