You wouldn't even attempt to drive a car that didn't have a steering wheel, would you? Of course not! You wouldn't have any control over where it was going.

The same thing is true of your financial situation. You shouldn't try to drive it unless you have a steering wheel. Driving your financial life without a budget and a plan is exactly like driving a car without a steering wheel. You do not have control.

Some people see a budget as nothing more than a piece of paper that only has the purpose of taking all of the fun out of life. That really isn't what it is.

A budget is a steering wheel. A budget is the mechanism used to steer yourself to financial security and successful debt management.

A budget that is made with realistic objectives will make today easier and tomorrow better. Budgets aren't painful. Budgets prevent pain. Real pain is being in debt up to your eyeballs with no visible means of a way out. Now THAT is pain.

When you make your budget, the first thing that you need to do is to search the Internet for budget forms. You can find budget forms that are free. Read the directions that are supplied with the forms and follow the directions that are provided.

Usually you start with what your net income per month is. Your net income is the amount of money that you actually bring home. It is your pay after your taxes and insurance payments have been deducted from your gross pay.

The next part of the budget form will ask you to list your monthly obligations for necessities; rent or mortgage, car payments, groceries, and utilities. You will also be asked to list other payments that you make, like credit card payments.

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Back in 2004, a man in Southern California got so tired of the offers that arrived in his email box for preapproved credit cards that he got an email address for his dog, Clifford. Sure enough, the offer for a credit card arrived in Clifford's inbox.

The man filled out the application. He listed Clifford's name as "Clifford J. Dog" and his mother as ?Pugsy Malone.? For the social security number, he used all zeros, and he included a note that Clifford was a dog and not to send the credit card. Clifford got the credit card anyway.

The man set the record straight, the card was canceled, and poor Clifford never got his plastic spending spree.

The moral of this story is that anybody can get a credit card - even a dog. If Clifford had been able to use his brand new plastic credit card, he probably wouldn't have been very worried about how he was going to pay for all of those doggie treats.

Unfortunately, many people use their credit cards with at least as much forethought as Clifford would have used. People who are otherwise perfectly reasonable and sane will make charges to their credit cards without any idea of how they are going to pay off those charges.

When the credit card bill comes due, they make the minimum payment and continue to make charges through the next month that are far larger than the minimum payment that they made. Debt simply piles up on top of debt. Interest is added. When a payment is late, late charges are added. The credit card gets maxed out and what does this credit card holder do? Why, he simply gets another credit card.

Credit card balances are loans. The balances are what you owe. You don't simply owe the minimum payment every month. The whole debt will eventually have to be paid off one way or another.

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Of course, the earlier you make a financial plan (think budget), the better and easier life will be. However, if you have been conducting your financial life without a plan and find yourself in a real financial bind, it isn't too late to make a budget now.

If each payday, you are only paying the creditors who are screaming the loudest, you need a plan, my friend.

There are many sites on the Internet that have forms that guide you through the budget-making process. Choose one that looks like it could work for you.

The first thing to do as you follow the instructions for making a budget is to list the bills that are for the necessities of life….food, shelter, utilities, transportation, and clothing. These expenses are not optional. After you figure out how much just covering life essentials comes to each month, the remainder is what you have for paying other bills. This is what we call disposable income.

If the total of your disposable income is less than the minimum payments that you are being required to make each month on your secured and unsecured debts, then you are going to need to make some changes and maybe get some help.

The first thing that you can do is contact all of your creditors yourself and try to make arrangements for paying them in a time frame that you can live with. But there are other options.

One option is to contact a debt management company. These companies can help with your unsecured debts (credit cards). There are both paid for and free debt management services available.

Another option is a consolidation loan. This is almost always in the form of a second mortgage, but it could be the answer that you are looking for.

A third option is a debt negotiation company that can negotiate with your creditors for you and get settlements of debts for greatly reduced amounts.

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