So, some financially savvy person tells you, “To stay financially stable, to meet financial goals, you have to make a budget.”

You hear, “Work, work difficult workwork workwork. Work. Work, tedious, unnecessary work.”

This is clearly a communication barrier. (If that’s what you really hear, maybe you should get your ears checked out. Really. I mean it. You have much bigger problems than budgeting.) Both points above are legit though. Creating a budget is work, but it should be a necessary evil. Whether you’re making those six digit salaries or you’re scraping by on the spaghetti noodles you just picked out of the dumpster, you need to know where your money is going and how to control spending habits.

A budget helps you take control of your money and get you what you want. (Sheesh, what else are you looking for? A mansion?) By making a plan, you can save for the things you really want to buy (Spending a few bucks on a few of those lesser Pez dispensers could keep you from buying that special edition Elvis Pez dispenser at the end of the month…it’s a collector’s item!).

Budgeting is all about setting goals and accomplishing them. These goals can be long-term or short-term. It might be budgeting for that sweeeet new SLR camera, or maybe it’s going out to dinner once a month. Maybe you just want to see where all your money is going. Budgeting will not make money magically appear, but it will make you aware of where it disappears to (and possibly stop it). Once you know that, you can tackle the problem head on, instead of avoiding your finances like they were a bully that sat on your head in grade school.

Budgeting can be a lot of work, but we haven’t left you high and dry either. You don’t have to do this alone. Your personal finance guide can help you establish one. Like your own little finance minion, they can even help you get started on building your budget via The bÜdg (our budgeting calculator).  You can of course do it yourself, but why do that when we can help?

For the scoop, check out what a budget is, how a budget works, and adjusting your budget for your lifestyle. We even will give you a few hints for budgeting. So hold on speed racers. Here we go.