Keep a calendar on your desk or near to where you sit and use it to note down exact and approximate dates when money is coming in . This could be in the form of payment , salary , money owed from friends and even upcoming expected cash bonuses and gifts .

Also , note down when all bills are due as soon as they come in . Mail payments for credit cards at least one week in advance as to avoid late fees .

The best and more convenient method is to pay bills on-line or better yet arrange direct debit from the bank , this will save you the headache of having to go and pay it in person and make life easier . Set aside the ‘ best ’ days to pay bills according to the date you receive your salary .

Do it as few times as possible-allot two special dates in which

all bills get paid rather than haphazardly . Make sure bills are all paid off before the due date .

Make a specific marked envelope marked paid to place paid bills in and keep unpaid bills in another envelope marked unpaid . This will help organize bills into one group or another .

Keep these prominently displayed wherever you sit the most .

Track your spending habits

Print a tracking sheet form from the internet . Write down all of the cash spent by the category it was spent in .

Categories may include groceries , petrol , gifts , books and magazines , eating out and miscellaneous . Categories are personalized and can

be as many or few as needed .

Keep the tracking sheet wherever you will be sure to use it and make sure to make a master copy and other copies to circulate .

Write daily so you can remember what you buy and even place items that are only minimally priced .

Keep a notepad with you to track spending . Even little incidentals like a pack of gum or deodorant are worthy of noting .

Remember if you paid for it then it is worth mentioning in your notebook ..

Develop a spending plan or budget

Make a columnized sheet in which the first column will be planned spending . Once a week list in that column what you really spent from the tracking sheet . At the end of the month subtract the

amounts and seeing the difference will help further tighten your budget .

By understanding and knowing exactly where money is being spent every month will make it easier to cut down on extravagant items versus the absolute necessities .

Use it also to plan what your priorities are for the month .

Plan also for expense that will not occur on a regular basis every month by taking the yearly cost and dividing by 12 months and list it on your spending plan .

Open a savings account to plan to save for periodic expenses

48 August 2018