You Need a Budget: The Proven System for Breaking the Paycheck to Paycheck Cycle, Getting Out of Debt, and Living the Life You Want

by Jesse Mecham

Complexity. A person with one credit card and one bank account will undoubtedly have an easier time budgeting than someone with several of each. Nix unnecessary complexity by closing extra bank accounts or routing your money to just one or two accounts. If you’re juggling multiple credit cards, use the one with the lowest fees and/or best perks (ahem, when you have the cash on hand to spend!). Pay off balances if you have them and use only that one card moving forward.

you’re not happy with your budget, go back to the question you asked yourself in the Introduction: What do I want my money to do for me? This will bring you perspective. You may find that your budget is still moving you toward the life you want. Perhaps slower than you’d hoped, but you’re still going in the right direction. That refresher may be enough to restore your mindset. If you realize your money is not doing what you want, go back to Rule One. Or even better, wipe out your whole budget and start over. Forget every obligation and goal,

The bad: But they could have really used that extra cash. They weren’t in dire straits but their income was not keeping up with their spending. With Alexis’s variable income, she’d jump from bringing in nothing one month to depositing a $10,000 check the next. They tried spreading the big payments over several months but they always went over budget. A check that they’d intended to last them four months barely made it to three.