If you're having trouble finding ways to spend less and save more, the information located within this guide may prove helpful. More and more people are finding it harder to curb their spending. Whether it's the rising cost of food, housing and other essentials or the temptation to spend money on products and services that we don't need, consumers often end up spending more than they earn.

This out-of-control spending can lead to a number of financial pitfalls. http://www.cardratings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=15948 In order to be more frugal and keep from going into debt, it is a good idea to analyze your spending habits and see if there are ways that you can cut back on your expenses. http://www.allbusiness.com/personal-finance/3878770-1.html You don't need to eat cheaply every night or turn off your electricity, but with a little ingenuity and a few helpful suggestions, there's no reason that you can't find ways to cut back on your expenses.

The first step in controlling your spending habits is to create a budget that works for your family.http://financialplan.about.com/od/budgetingyourmoney/ht/createbudget.htm Once you have begun to work within the budget, you can determine where you are spending any excess funds by keeping receipts and total your miscellaneous expenses. You may find that you have more expendable funds that you had originally thought. Determining what expenses you can live without will help you to find ways to save money. Here are a few tips to teach you how to curb your spending and maybe even save some money.

A budget is a record of all the regular expenses you have. Once you have all your regular expenses written down, you can use this list to make sure that your income gets distributed so that you will have the money to pay for all your bills when they are due.

First, go into your check book or your online banking account and make a list of all the bills that you paid in the past year. Note the amount you paid for each bill each month. It is important to do this for an entire year and not just a month, because some bills like life insurance and homeowner's insurance only come once or twice a year.http://urbanext.illinois.edu/ww1/03-01.html

Once you have a list of all the bills that you paid last year, and how much you paid each month, create a monthly average for each bill. If you pay a bill monthly, then add up all 12 payments and divide the total by 12. If you pay a bill twice a year, then divide the amount you pay by 6. If you only pay a bill once a year, then divide the amount you pay by 12.

Now you should have a monthly budget that lists all the bills you have to pay and how much you have to set aside in savings for bills that only come once or twice a year. Kiplinger provides an online form that you can use or just read for ideas on how to organize a budget and what not to leave out.http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/budget/

Once you know which bills you have to pay, it is time to figure out what else you are spending your money on. For at least a month, keep track of every cent you spend. This is most accurate and less trouble if you get and save a receipt for every purchase. Even get and save a receipt if you buy a pack of gum at the gas station when you get gas. Add up every cent you spent in a month. Make a list of all the things you spent money on. Put the list in categories like groceries, dining out, entertainment and transportation.http://urbanext.illinois.edu/ww1/03-01.html

Get out the budget that you created in step one. Make a comprehensive monthly spending list that includes your budget for your bills and also your monthly spending. Make sure and include monthly averages for bills that only come once or twice a year. Add up all the total expenses that you have for a month.

Add up your annual income. If you receive paychecks that don't change with the seasons and you are not on commission or self employed, then you can just add up your paychecks for a month. Otherwise, use last year's tax return and divide your take home pay for the year by 12 to get your net monthly income.

Compare your net monthly income to your monthly expenditures. If the total is negative, then you know how much spending you have to control. If the total is positive, then you know how much you have available to put in savings every month toward retirement, vacations and buying your next car with cash rather than having a car payment.

Look at the list of monthly expenditures that you made in step 2. As you look at each item, ask yourself if it is a want or a need. Items like car insurance are legally required needs. Items like dining out are wants that can be eliminated or reduced.http://urbanext.illinois.edu/ww1/03-02.html Test each item on your spending list this way.

Make a third list that has wants on the bottom and needs on the top, along with the average monthly expense of each one. Use a computer to make this last list so that you can easily move items around. It is even better if you use a spreadsheet like Excel so that the computer can keep a running total for you. In any case, move all the items you spend money on each month around on this list until you have the top priority needs at the top of the list, and the last priority wants at the bottom of the list.

If you used a spreadsheet, then note the running total. If you used a word processor, then create a running total. In the running total, find the net monthly income figure that you calculated in step 2. Draw a line under the item which gives the list this total. Eliminate all expenses under this total. Stop buying those items. Cancel those subscriptions. Stop going to those restaurants.