Who do you know that has money they can just allow to slip away as if it never existed? Chances are you do not know anyone and it probably certainly would not you if you did. Today it is more important than ever that we make every single penny count for something because we just do not have any extra ones to let go of. The best way to make the absolute most of the money you have is by making sure you can account for where every dime goes and this is spent on something worthwhile and never wasted.

If you think that that sounds like you, you are probably right. It does require effort and close attention on your part every time you are going to let that money out of your pocket for anything. Two of the biggest amounts of money we spend are for rent or mortgage payments and then everything else. It is vital that we never spend more than one third of our income on our housing because when we do it cuts into the money we have to spend on everything else.

If you are living in a place that is too big for you, either price wise or in space, consider renting a room to someone or if possible finding something smaller and less expensive. This could be a difficult move with the housing market the way it is for sellers so this is why renting a room to someone to make money towards your mortgage or rent might be a good way to balance out that monthly payment without having to move.

Another place that our money goes is for utilities. If you rarely use a home phone any more because you use a cell phone, get rid of the home phone expense. Many people are doing this now just to save that extra money. Replace your old light bulbs with the new energy savers that last longer. They are well worth the investment. Turn down your heat thermostat and wear more clothes. Energy for heating is skyrocketing every where and turning the temperature down just a few degrees will save money.

The two necessities we have to have is for food for our stomachs and food for our cars. Be more choosey about the foods you buy and how much you spend. Do not use credit cards for things like groceries if you can possibly avoid it and only use them to buy car fuel if you pay the bill off at the end of the month. Credit card interest eats up more of your paycheck than you realize at the time. This is something that many people are learning to live without and it does save them money. If you do not have it, do not spend it.