Budgeting

I know; you'd rather have a root canal than work on your monthly budget and I'm with you (well almost -- I remember having a root canal and I think I'd rather work on my budget!). However here is why working with a budget is essential: you have to gauge how much money you have, how much you're spending, how much you're saving (or not saving), and make necessary adjustments or you're going to be in the red (read debt) and not have a clue about why. A budget is like the speedometer in your car; it tells you how fast you're going on the freeway to avoid a speeding ticket or how rapidly your savings account is growing or diminishing (hopefully growing). A budget also tells you if your plan is working.

How to set a budget and stick with it appeared on Yahoo! Finance. The article also gives you a good guideline to follow re: how much to allocate to essentials, discretionary, and savings.