Getting on top of your everyday finances doesn’t have to be difficult. Wouldn’t it be nice to get a handle on things and start achieving your financial goals? You can, we all can—but it takes a little work.

Diving right in and trying to change everything all at once can be overwhelming and a recipe for failure. Making small changes, little by little, might just be the right course of action.

Small changes might take a little longer for you to see a dramatic change, but overtime they will compound without burning you out.

Small Changes to Get on Top

> One of the most important things you can do, which I also suggest doing first, is to know where your money is going. If you don’t know where it all goes, how can you fix it? The easiest way to do this would be to access you online banking account (or credit card account) and look at it item by item. You can also save your receipts for a while if you make purchases in cash as well.

> If you don’t have the money, either in cash or in your checking account to pay for something…then don’t buy it until you do. Charging things because you can’t afford them at the time is only going to make things harder on your finances. If you don’t have the money, then you’re more than likely spending more money than you’re bringing in. That was how I ended up going in debt a few years back; the debt just slowly grew with each paycheck.

> Find one thing to either reduce or cut your spending on. Just one thing a time so you don’t get burdened. Could you eat out less? Do something at home instead of going out? Swap going to a movie with renting a movie? Do your own nails or hair? Sign-up for a video game or movie rental subscription instead of buying them? There are many options out there, just take it slow.

> Start each payday with a zero balance. This is great to start building your savings and make sure you don’t spend more than you make. Say it’s payday, but you still have 40 bucks leftover…send it straight to savings. Pretend it’s gone forever and you only have what your paycheck is. This can really add up over time and is one of my favorite things to do.

> Give up an addiction over time, by slowly cutting down. Depending on your addiction, this could have many benefits. Whether your addiction is: shopping, soda, sugar, smoking, drinking, coffee, energy drinks, etc. you should be able to save a good amount of money. Not all addictions are directly tied to your finances, but sometimes you can find a link.

Getting ahead on your finances will take some time. You don’t have to cut out everything and go without, just figure out which expenses are the most important to you.

If you love grabbing Starbucks every morning on the way to work, you don’t have to stop. You just need to find a way to make it work. It’s your money and your life, you have control of your choices.