There are several key differences from people who practice financial success and those who are constantly in a state of financial distress. Luckily starting on the road to your own financial security and freedom is not difficult.

You would be completely surprised by how many people are stressed about money because they don't pay enough attention to their money. In today's society we are not generally taught how to manage our money in schools or by our parents. While this is not true for everyone, it is true for many of us. If you are reading this article it may also be true for you. Ask yourself how often do you look at your budget? Do you have a budget? What are you doing with your money? How often do you look at your bank account? Do you balance your checkbook?

By not paying attention to your money you are constantly losing it in ways you would be surprised to notice. The first step if you want to be financially secure, and eventually successful requires that you start paying attention to your money.

Budget

That's right! You and everyone else needs to have a budget as a means of tracking spending and maintaining financial goals. This does not have to be a chore, and in fact it can be fun. First a budget will help you see where you are really spending your money and second it will help you keep more money!

Let me give you an example. When I first started my budget I realized that I was spending over $300.00 a month on dining out. This number was completely unacceptable to me when I was spending more than enough money on food for home, and often ended up throwing out food that was not eaten fast enough. By paying attention to my money and seeing this I got to keep 99% of that instead of throwing it away on something that I really didn't need. I also lost a few pounds as a result! Now, that money is going towards things I want like getting out of debt, or a new couch.

You need to find a budget system that works for you and work on it for a few minutes each day. I glance at my budget in the morning with breakfast to remind myself what my goals are. I use an excel spreadsheet with custom equations to suit my needs, but this, of course, is not for everyone. The good news is that the internet is an abundant resource of different budgeting techniques. All you need to do is a Google search!

Plan

Having goals and plans for your money is important. If your money doesn't have a path to follow it will just fly in every direction and be lost as quickly as it was gained. If you have not read a book calledRich Dad, Poor Dadby Robert Kiyosaki you need to. In this book Mr. Kiyosaki describes money as an employee that can work for you 24 hours a day and never asks for a vacation.

Basically you need to increase what you know about money and do it quickly because the less you know, the more money the people that do know are taking away from you. Don't believe me? How much money has your bank alone pried from you? Think about it.

To start with your plan start with Mr. Kiyosaki's book or perhaps look into hiring a financial planner.

Online Banking/Balancing The Checkbook

Far too many people don't balance their checkbook and don't know exactly how much they have in the bank. I used to be one of them and perhaps you currently are. This is a simple problem to fix, get a register and start writing your expenses down. Don't always count on your online account. I know that my bank likes to make things disappear and re-arrange transactions constantly to make me think I have a little more than I do. Be careful and just balance your register constantly. This may seem like a hassle but those before online banking did it for a reason. If you don't want to manage your register ask yourself how many NSF or low balance fees you have incurred in the last month, six months and one year?

Some great resources for financial information and guidance are Robert Kiyosaki and Dave Ramsey. Both are financially successful and intelligent with a lot of great advice. If you would like guidance in how to balance not only this aspect of your life but all others consider hiring a life coach. index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=55&Itemid=29" Learn more about life coaching here .