Managing money is not about earning loads of money, it is all about managing the money that you earn and as your granny might have said, “cut your cloth according to your measure”.  In other words only spending what you have, cutting costs if and where necessary and living within your means.

What is “living within your means”?  This is when you are spending less money than you are making.  Nowadays, many people do not live this way.  In many cases they live above their means which causes stress and upset not only financially but also physically.  Some may be doing so without realising it, as they do not know how much money they are actually spending.  In some cases they don’t even know what their total income is.  To some people, it is more about keeping up appearances and keeping up with “The Jones’s” than keeping up with their finances.

Keeping records of your money, both income and expenditure, will enable you discover if you are living within your means.  Armed with these records, you can clearly see where savings can be made on your current spending if necessary to bring you in line with living within your means.   Your current income will support a certain standard of living – you should choose to live within your means or increase your income to support your expenditure.

Best place to start is a budget.  Keeping track of all income and expenditure is made easy using BillsManager.com.  Firstly, set up your budget, which will clearly show you your annual outgoings.  It will also let you know how much you need to set aside for your bills each week or month before you start any discretionary spending.   Then complete the income and expenditure section which will automatically include the expenses included in your budget and allow you to include discretionary spending.  It will also give you an estimated 12 month forecast of your cash flow and will give you an overall picture of your current financial situation.