I’ve never been afraid to ask for help and budgeting is no exception. I’ve tried several forms of budgeting and had trouble sticking to just as many. But, when the going got tough, I knew I had to ask for assistance. I needed budget help! By this time, I had surely learned the basics of budgeting. I had the general concept and knew the basic ingredients to successful budgeting. I just couldn’t seem to stick to it.

Keeping track of so many financial records seemed an endless, time consuming, task that I just couldn’t, or wouldn’t, keep up with. I even tried a computer money management software. It was much easier than former written methods I had tried but, just like before, I neglected to enter the data in the all the appropriate places and my budget ended up in the budget graveyard.

After I buried my most recent budget flop, I decided to seek budgeting help from a new online program. I had tried everything else. I was not giving up, not until I had exhausted all possibilities of budgeting assistance. I knew I would never have control of my finances, and be free from debt, until I could stick to a budget. Little did I know that my latest budget experiment would be the beginning of the end of my budgeting nightmare.

I’m here to tell you, budgets are not created equal! Online real time money management saved me from financial ruin. It was the budgeting helper I had been looking for. Online budgeting allowed me to keep track of all of my bank and credit card transactions in one location. And, I didn’t have to rely on myself to enter the transactions into my budget. The program automatically retrieved my transactions into each account. This new online budgeting method was helping me already! No stacks of statements to sort through and transfer data from. I could then simply transfer those transactions into the appropriate budgeting categories with a click of my mouse.

I could see from the very beginning that this budget program was superior to other budgets I had tried. This new online budgeting program is helping me keep my budget plan up to date and on track. And, it has so many features that I didn’t even bargain for including, a plan to manage debt. I needed help with my budget and found complete personal finance planning help.

Simple ways everyone can save money!

1. If you have your haircut every 3 weeks, try going 4 or 5 weeks in between haircuts. If you pay $10 for a haircut, you could save $70 a year by having a cut every 5 weeks instead of 3.

2. Buy only generic basic types of cold cereal, if your family must have it. With fall and cooler weather coming, it’s a good idea to introduce hot cereal. It’s usually the best buy and by using the microwave oven to prepare, it is almost as quick to fix as cold cereal.

3. If you have a cell phone, don’t buy the accessories at the “cell phone store”. Check out prices at local discount stores first.

4. Quit smoking. Need we say more?

5. In some states, children’s immunizations are offered free at local health clinics. Call the local health department to inquire.

6. Wash, wax and detail your own vehicle instead of paying someone else to do it.

7. Put a little money aside every month in order to pay your car and homeowners insurance annually. Most insurers charge a fee (sometimes hefty!) for paying monthly. You’ll also avoid those mid-year increases.

8. When making instant pudding from a box, add an extra cup of milk. The pudding “sets up” the same and tastes the same, but you have one more cup. You might want to experiment with adding a little more. And of course, another money-saver is to use reconstituted dry milk.

9. Meat prices are soaring, so plan to have a meat-less meal at least twice a week. Substitute an egg or pasta dish. Or maybe canned tuna or salmon.

10. If you love magazines, try sharing with a friend. Each of you subscribe to a different magazine, when you’re finished reading, swap.

“Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship.” –Benjamin Franklin

Helping you live the good life…on a budget! Cyndi Roberts is the editor of the “1 Frugal Friend 2 Another” bi-weekly e-newsletter and founder of the website of the same name. Visit http://www.cynroberts.com/ to find creative tips, articles, and a free e-cooking book. Subscribe to the e-newsletter and receive the free e-course “Taming the Monster Grocery Bill”.