Set a Budget and get finances in order.

Where to begin? This is a toughy. I haven't figured out the whole budget thing yet, but I definitely need to. The first thing I plan to do is monitor my spending for two months. I figure that will give me a good baseline for everything that I need to spend money on, and likely shed some light on areas that I can cut back. In fact, I already see one glaring area. I eat out way too much.

As part of the budget, I want to make sure that I include putting some money into a savings account/CD/MMA/whatever. I'd like to have enough money easily accessible to get me through 3 months.

Of course, you can't ignore income in the budget, and it would certainly make everything easier if I could swing a raise and/or promotion. I like my current job, but if I can't get a raise by the end of the year, I'll need to start looking elsewhere.

Budgeting has never been one of my strong points, so I think this will be the toughest goal to accomplish. Wish me luck.