If you’ve ever felt like there’s “too much month left at the end of your money,” you’re not alone. The issue usually isn’t how much you earn. It’s that your money doesn’t have a clear plan. Let’s explore how to take control of your finances in 3 simple steps.

Let's start with preparation. Before you start setting budgets and creating your first budget, you'll need a little research. Preparing your backpack and car. Don't worry, this step won't be too time-consuming. You need three things.

Before you start driving, you check your gas tank. Budgeting works the same way. First, check how much money you have right now. Look at your bank accounts and your cash. Add it up. That is your starting fuel. Do not count money you expect later. Start with what you have today. When more income arrives, you can add it to your tank.

Next, decide where you want to go. Think about the expenses you must cover this month. These are your required stops. Rent or mortgage, utilities, groceries, insurance, and debt payments come first. Then think about the optional stops. Eating out, shopping, subscriptions, and entertainment are not required, but they make the trip more enjoyable. Review your past spending to estimate how much you usually spend in each area.

Choose your transportation. You can travel by car, motorcycle, or even bicycle. The equivalent of this choice in budgeting is deciding how you'll create your first budget. There are several options – if you're in the mood and are patient, you can simply do it on paper (this would be the equivalent of a bicycle). If you like spreadsheets, you can create your budget in Excel or Google Sheets. And if none of these options sound right, you can try one of the dozens of budgeting apps.

Here you can find our recommendation for personal finance tracking: https://thinkmoney.email/p/personal-finance-tracker

At this stage, you'll use the list of spending categories you created in the first step. Review it carefully and determine what your budget will look like. Budget for the most important things first (bills, mortgage payments, food), and only then for the rest. This way, you'll know exactly what you can afford and which expenses must wait for better times or a new inflow to your account.

The second step is checking whether we're sticking to our plan. How often should we look at the map? So often that we don't get lost. Only at this stage do we move on to writing down our expenses. This is simply checking off the attractions we've already visited on our itinerary.

It's at this stage that many people fail, as it requires a certain level of systematic thinking. You can write down receipts, preferably immediately after leaving the store or after making a transaction. Additionally, set a reminder on your phone that will go off daily, for example, around 8:00 PM, to remind you to write down your transactions.

Sometimes you will need to change direction. An unexpected expense may pop up. Move money from one category to another if needed. If extra income comes in, decide immediately where it should go. Every dollar needs a destination.

The route is complete, it's time to summarize. To make the next lap more enjoyable, we need to take a moment to analyze our fuel consumption, consider whether all the cities along the route were actually good stops, and whether we arrived where we planned. What else? This step is the moment when we decide whether we want to change anything in the next month's plan. So, after completing the budget, we summarize and draw conclusions from the past month. And this is the secret sauce of budgeting, so no matter what happens – don't skip this step.

Here are three elements for you to consider:

First, look at what didn’t go as planned. Did you overspend in certain areas? Were there expenses that caught you off guard? Think about why it happened and whether it could have been avoided. Write down your observations so you can learn from them instead of repeating the same mistakes.

Second, pick one spending category to improve next month. Don’t try to fix everything at once. Choose an area where small changes could make a difference. Maybe you’re paying for subscriptions you rarely use. Canceling even one or two of them can free up extra money quickly.

Third, build your next month’s budget using what you learned. Adjust categories that were unrealistic. If you consistently spent more on groceries, increase that number so your plan reflects real life. If you struggle to track expenses, set better reminders or create a routine that makes it easier. Use each month as a chance to improve the next one.