Do any of these sound familiar?

Well, that's problem but what about a solution. The solution is simple no matter what your financial situation is.

First, you must find out where you stand now. That could be as simple as writing down your income and bills and expenses on a piece of notebook paper. Then subtract your expenses from your income. Make sure to include your household expenses (groceries, car gas, etc.) in your expenses.

Now look at numbers. Do you have anything left over? If so what are you going to do with it? That's next step. If you don't then you need to consider cutting some of those expenses.

Now you need to decide what you really want your money to do for you. Set your goals! This could be saving for your retirement, buying a home, college for kids, getting a new car or any number of things. That's why you have to decide for yourself. There are just too many variables for someone else to help you.

My first suggestion is that if you have credit card debt you look for a way to pay them off and stop using them. Realizing that goal could make your other goals more likely to succeed.

Now it's time to set up that dreaded budget. Where are you going to find time and desire to write everything down that you spend and all other stuff that goes along with keeping a budget? The answer is that you don't have to!

One of biggest myths about budgeting is that you need to keep up with it everyday. That's reason so many people refuse to try.

It does take a little time to get your budget setup. There are a lot of things that need to be considered. But once your finances are down on paper there is no reason to work on it except on payday. You will find a link to a free budget like this in bio of this article.

If you believe that managing your money is to difficult or just too much trouble consider alternative. Not managing your money is probably robbing you of thousands of dollars a year and could lead to financial disaster.

There is only one way to change this cycle. You have to allow enough money in your budget to cover things you need. You must do this even at expense of your other bills. That could put you in a position that you can't make some of your payments, but at lease you won't be increasing your debt, except for possibly late fees. If this is your situation you need to seek help to reduce payments on your other bills.

Naturally, there are many ways to cut your household expenses that will allow you to pay more toward your other bills. You can save a lot of money on groceries by using coupons, buying generic, not using processed foods, etc. The internet is full of ideas and tips to help you save. I would start by visiting The Frugal Shopper at http://www.thefrugalshopper.com.

When you develop or revise your budget, always put emphasis on your household needs. Once you have determined how much you need to get by, then you can see what is left for other bills.