StepOne:WriteaFinancialWishList
Startbig.Atthetopofyourlistofmoneygoalsshouldbeanemergencyfund,saysfinancialcoachJudyLawrence,authorofTheBudgetKit."Ifsomethinghappenstoyou,yourspouse,children,computer,orcar,"saysLawrence,"you'llneedsomethingtofallbackontoavoidgoingintodebt."Aimtosavetheequivalentofatleastthreemonthsofyourincome.Next,listyourbig-ticketdreams-togetoutofdebt,remodelthekitchen,payforthekids'education,traveltoEurope.Alsowritedownpersonalandhouseholdneeds（Newinterviewsuit?Waterheater?）andwants（Kitchencabinets?Digitalcamera?SatelliteTV?）thatyou'dliketopurchaseinthenextsixmonths.Finally,notesmallmoneygoals,suchaseatingoutorgettingamanicureonceamonth.Nexttoeachgoal,estimatethedollaramountyou'llneedtoaccomplishit.
草拟一个花钱预算
第一栏写上应急款数，譬如你的车子坏了，生病了等等，接着数数花钱的大项：想想则那样能够还清自己的房贷，给厨房改装一下，学费，去欧洲旅游，还有一些自己想做的事情。最后，写下生活中的小数目花费，例如外出就餐，每月秀修一次指甲，然后把所有这些数目加起来。
StepTwo:FigureOutHowMuchtoSave
MoneyguruDavidBach,authorofSmartWomenFinishRichandTheAutomaticMillionaire,suggestspayingyourselffirst.Put10percentofyourmonthlygrossincomeintovehiclessuchasageneralsavingsaccount（whereyoucangrowyourthree-monthemergencyfundandthemoneyyou'llputtowardfinancialgoals）oraretirementaccount.Dothisandyou'llbewayaheadofthecurve:Inthefirsthalfof2006,thenationalmonthlysavingsratewasnegative.45percent.Whichmeansapersonearningamonthlyincomeof$1,500notonlyspentherentiresalary,butalsoanadditional$6.75ontopofwhatshemade-withoutsavingadime.
拟一个存款数额
专家建议每月把工资的10%存入定期。
StepThree:TrackYourSpending
"Youcandoabetterjobofkeepingsomeofyourmoneyonceyoufindwhereit'sgoing,"saysBach.Sogiveyourselfafull-onrealitycheck.Startingtoday,stashasmallnotebookandapencilinyourpursetokeeptrackofeverysingledailyexpense,fromMonday's$2coffeetothe$50youspentforgroceriesonSaturday.Trackingspendingforatleastoneweek,sayBachandLawrence,willgiveyouaroughideaofyourmoneyhabits-aswellasincentivetostartchangingthem.Threepointers:1.Countthesmallstuff:$0.95candybars,$2foryourson'slunchmoney.2.Writedowntheexactnumbertothecentorrounduptothenextwholenumberorin$0.25increments.（Don'trounddown!）3.Guess.Ifyouforgettorecord,say,howmuchyoupaidforgasyesterday,atleastjotdownanestimate.
记账
记账是一个好习惯，你可以通过记账知道自己的钱主要花在哪些方面，从现在开始，准备一个小账本和笔，每天记账，包括2美元的咖啡，50美元的购物账单。
StepFour:FindOutWhereYourMoney'sGoing
GotoWhereDoesYourMoneyReallyGo?toprintoutaworksheetthatwillhelpyoutallyyourmonthlyspendinginthefollowingeightcategories:Housing,Transportation,Insurance,Food,PersonalCare,Medical,Children,andMiscellaneous.Orjustwritethesecategoriesatthetopofablankpieceofpaper,leavingroomundereachtolistyourexpenses.Createsubcategoriesforeach:cosmeticsandclothingforPersonalCare,groceriesandrestaurantmealsunderFood,parkingandgasunderTransportation.Refertoyourdailyspendingnotesfromstepthree,aswellasrecentcreditcardandbankstatements,foracompleteviewofyourexpenses.Listeachexpenseunderitsappropriatecategory.Then,tallytheexpensesineachcategory.Note:Ifyou'veonlytrackedyourspendingforaweek,don'tforgettomultiplyalloftheeverydayexpensesbyfourforamoreaccuratewhole-monthtotal.
将自己的花费归为8类
粗略地将你每个月的花费归为8类：住房，交通，保险，吃饭，人际，医疗，小孩以及其他，并将每一类的花费写在相应类别下。
StepFive:IdentifyWastedMoney
Asyousurveyyourspendingpatterns,Lawrencepredictsthatmorethanafewexpenseswillmakeyouask,"DidIreallyneedthis?"Occasionalcoffees,bottledwater,andunreadnewspapersmakeupwhatBachcallsyour"lattefactor."Assessthesmallwaysyou'rethrowingawaycashonlittlethings-andmakethatthefirstplaceyoulookformoneytokick-startyour"spendless,savemore"financialplan.
减少浪费的钱
花费每一笔钱的时候，首先问问自己："这个我真的非买不可么？"
StepSix:TakeBackYourMoney
Weighthe"lattefactor"expensesagainstthegoalsonyourwishlist.Chancesareyou'dgladlygiveupoverduemovie-rentalfeesifitmeanttakingthatfamilyvacationyou'vebeendreamingabout.Startbycuttinginhalftheeverydayexpensesyoucan'tbeartoeliminatealtogether.Justbyhalvingatwo-bucks-a-daysodahabit,youcouldsaveasmuchas$365thisyear!Bachalsorecommendsloweringyourfixedoverhead-say,downgradingfromadeluxe$80cableplantoastandard$19.95.Ineachcategory,nexttotheactualamountyouspentthismonth,writeagoalamountthatreflectsanyprojectedcutbacks（say,$28amonthoncoffeeinsteadof$56）toguideyounextmonth.Thesesmallcutbackswillyieldbigrewards-apatioset,anewkitchen,collegetuition,younameit.Andwhenyoulookatitthatway,itmakestakingoutpizzaonceaweekinsteadoftwiceseemlikenosacrificeatall.
开源节流
省下不必要的开支，例如，与一场度假比起来，看电影就显得那么微不足道了。