Sometimes we get stuck with leaving our houses with $40, then coming back a few hours later with $12 and nothing to show for it. Ever happen to you? If this happens more often then not, then it's time to create a budget.

To someone who doesn't have one, it can appear to be an overwhelming and intimidating experience to what a budget looks like, but there are really just two things that a simple budget needs: (1) Your Income and (2) Your Outgo. You don't need a fancy computer program or a hired gun to do it for you. Just grab a sheet of paper, a pencil and a calculator.

Draw a long line down the center of the paper and head each column with "Income" and "Outgo". Start by listing all of your sources of income. If only one member of your family has a single job, then your list will be pretty short; no problem. Next, grab all of your monthly bills and begin charting in the second column your monthly payments for everything. Be sure to also mark down the monthly prorated amount on things like car insurance paid twice a year or your license plates paid annually so that there are no surprises when they come up.

Now, create a set of funds that you can draw on when the time comes. For example, you can set up a fund called "Medical" where you can contribute put $10 (or whatever you want) into an envelope monthly so that you can have cash-at-hand for when the time comes in an emergency. You can do the same for "Entertainment" and tap into the fund when you find out that that rock concert you really want to attend is coming to town. The envelopes are there to set a maximum amount for your spending for each fund. If you have $80 in the envelope and the concert costs $90, then you either can't go or you have to rob another fund, which is not recommended.

Finally, add the totals for each column. Your goal is to have them equal $0 when you subtract the total income from the total outgo. If you end up with more on the outgo side, you need more income or you need to cut spending somewhere. If you have more income than outgo, then you need to find a fund for the income to go on the outgo side.

If you want to take the next and work with a computer program that can help you with your budget, try Quicken or Buxfer (www.buxfer.com) to help you manage your money.

The bottom line is that you must take control of your money. Whatever budget method you choose won't work at all unless you are disciplined enough to stick with it. If you find that you just can't figure it out, contact someone who understands the process or go on the web and research more details on budgeting to help you get back on your feet!