Typical Household Budget Percentages

• 33-38% Housing (59%-66% of this is on shelter - mortgage interest, property taxes, repairs, and rent, and other items)
• 15-19% Transportation (up to half of this is vehicle purchase - 2 cars per household average)
• 13-14% Food Budget (55% at home, 45% away)
• 0-2% Alcohol
• 0-3% Tobacco and related products
• 0-2% Caffeine related products
• 4-5% On clothing and related services (drycleaning)
• 4.5 - 6% on out of pocket Health Care
• 9% Personal Insurance and Pensions (breakdown: 1% life and other personal insurance, 7.5% Social Security, .5% investment
• 5% Entertainment
• 2.5% Charitable Contributions
• 2% Reading and Education
• 1% Personal Care products and services
• 2% Miscellaneous
• 4% Credit Card, Consumer Loan Interest

If your budget closely matches the above, here's what you can do to fix that. Do these in order. Do not proceed to the next step until you've addressed the current step:

1. Stop using your @#!&*! credit cards!
2. Make a down and dirty budget right away! Don't worry about it being right at first...you can perfect it over time. Just do it!
3. Cut back on your easy to identify, frivolous spending habits (3 dollar lattes, magazines, 450 extra satellite channels, etc.) If you've got some expensive habits you've wanted to quit for some time, now's the time. For example, if you're a hard-drinkin', chain smokin', coffee drinkin' fool, you can reap a windfall of up to 7% or more of your income! Just cutting back to 2 drinks per day, only drinking coffee from home and quitting the cigarettes will net you a nice amount of extra cash and add years to your life! Refine your budget after eliminating what you can.
4. Reduce your 401K and other investment payments (if you have any) to the minimum allowable to keep your 401K and/or other investment accounts open. If your employer has a stock matching plan, keep that in addition to the minimum to keep your investments accounts open (but only up to the minimum you need to get all the matching money.) You're going to reap a whole lot more return on paying off your debts than you can ever hope to reasonably get from traditional investments. If you're paying into a college fund for your kids - keep doing that - if you're not and you really want to, hold off until step 6. Refine your budget to reflect the extra income available, if any.
5. Build an emergency fund equal to 2% of your gross annual income. It should be a little hard to get to (like a separate checking account or mutual fund), but not too difficult (Certificate of Deposit.) Work this into your budget - it's very important. You will not believe the amount of stress that will melt away when you do this.
6. Pay off your debts - everything except mortgages. And don't just move your revolving debt into a second or third mortgage - that's bad. Pay them off using a rapid debt paydown system. Pay off any student loans (for future reference, these are a bad idea.) Pay off your car(s) too. If you're not upside down on a car loan (your car is worth more than you owe) you can sell it and get a cheaper, paid for car. Throw a small (inexpensive but fun) party for yourself and your loved ones every time you pay off a debt.
7. Take all the money you WERE spending to pay off your non-mortgage debt and start putting it into those investment accounts you put on idle. Make sure you're investing at least 10% of your gross income. If you followed steps 1-4 exactly, you should have lots of breathing room in your budget now. If this is true and you want to invest more than 10%, go ahead, but be sure to reward yourself too and live a little. Grow your emergency fund to a level you're comfortable
   Microsoft Great Plains in Aerospace & Defense industries - implementation & customization highlights
   Microsoft Great Plains fits horizontal markets clientele and in case of Aerospace and Defense industry we’ll talk about contractors – parts and subsystems for government contracts. We do not necessarily talk about large corporation, however models described could be implemented for large publicly traded company. As a rule – market is represented by established companies with long history, including long history of its ERP and Computer Business System. It is difficult to stake on the computer operating systems future, however you may try to give high level of trust to the ERP coming from Microsoft Business Solutions, especially considering the fact of acquisition of such market leaders as Great Plains Software and Navision Software.• Se
8. 15-19% Transportation (up to half of this is vehicle purchase - 2 cars per household average)
9. 13-14% Food Budget (55% at home, 45% away)
10. 0-2% Alcohol
11. 0-3% Tobacco and related products
12. 0-2% Caffeine related products
13. 4-5% On clothing and related services (drycleaning)
14. 4.5 - 6% on out of pocket Health Care
15. 9% Personal Insurance and Pensions (breakdown: 1% life and other personal insurance, 7.5% Social Security, .5% investment
16. 5% Entertainment
17. 2.5% Charitable Contributions
18. 2% Reading and Education
19. 1% Personal Care products and services
20. 2% Miscellaneous
21. 4% Credit Card, Consumer Loan Interest

If your budget closely matches the above, here's what you can do to fix that. Do these in order. Do not proceed to the next step until you've addressed the current step:

1. Stop using your @#!&*! credit cards!
2. Make a down and dirty budget right away! Don't worry about it being right at first...you can perfect it over time. Just do it!
3. Cut back on your easy to identify, frivolous spending habits (3 dollar lattes, magazines, 450 extra satellite channels, etc.) If you've got some expensive habits you've wanted to quit for some time, now's the time. For example, if you're a hard-drinkin', chain smokin', coffee drinkin' fool, you can reap a windfall of up to 7% or more of your income! Just cutting back to 2 drinks per day, only drinking coffee from home and quitting the cigarettes will net you a nice amount of extra cash and add years to your life! Refine your budget after eliminating what you can.
4. Reduce your 401K and other investment payments (if you have any) to the minimum allowable to keep your 401K and/or other investment accounts open. If your employer has a stock matching plan, keep that in addition to the minimum to keep your investments accounts open (but only up to the minimum you need to get all the matching money.) You're going to reap a whole lot more return on paying off your debts than you can ever hope to reasonably get from traditional investments. If you're paying into a college fund for your kids - keep doing that - if you're not and you really want to, hold off until step 6. Refine your budget to reflect the extra income available, if any.
5. Build an emergency fund equal to 2% of your gross annual income. It should be a little hard to get to (like a separate checking account or mutual fund), but not too difficult (Certificate of Deposit.) Work this into your budget - it's very important. You will not believe the amount of stress that will melt away when you do this.
6. Pay off your debts - everything except mortgages. And don't just move your revolving debt into a second or third mortgage - that's bad. Pay them off using a rapid debt paydown system. Pay off any student loans (for future reference, these are a bad idea.) Pay off your car(s) too. If you're not upside down on a car loan (your car is worth more than you owe) you can sell it and get a cheaper, paid for car. Throw a small (inexpensive but fun) party for yourself and your loved ones every time you pay off a debt.
7. Take all the money you WERE spending to pay off your non-mortgage debt and start putting it into those investment accounts you put on idle. Make sure you're investing at least 10% of your gross income. If you followed steps 1-4 exactly, you should have lots of breathing room in your budget now. If this is true and you want to invest more than 10%, go ahead, but be sure to reward yourself too and live a little. Grow your emergency fund to a level you're comfortabl
   Writing a Free eBook for a Cause
   As a writer many people ask me; How do you make a living? Well, I am pretty much retired really so for me it is not a chosen profession and I am well aware that most writers are broke and well, I just never wanted to be broke I guess? Incidentally I am a retired entrepreneur; a doer in my opinion and all my life I always considered writers to be writers and not doers. In fact I use to have an extremely low opinion of writers for that reason.Nevertheless along my entrepreneurial journeys, I had actually written many things, such as Operations Manuals for my Companies, 1000s upon 1000s of pages in all. I had accidentally ended up a co-author of a book due to the fact I was on the board of directors for an industry group. Then I had written
   you've addressed the current step:

   1. Stop using your @#!&*! credit cards!
   2. Make a down and dirty budget right away! Don't worry about it being right at first...you can perfect it over time. Just do it!
   3. Cut back on your easy to identify, frivolous spending habits (3 dollar lattes, magazines, 450 extra satellite channels, etc.) If you've got some expensive habits you've wanted to quit for some time, now's the time. For example, if you're a hard-drinkin', chain smokin', coffee drinkin' fool, you can reap a windfall of up to 7% or more of your income! Just cutting back to 2 drinks per day, only drinking coffee from home and quitting the cigarettes will net you a nice amount of extra cash and add years to your life! Refine your budget after eliminating what you can.
   4. Reduce your 401K and other investment payments (if you have any) to the minimum allowable to keep your 401K and/or other investment accounts open. If your employer has a stock matching plan, keep that in addition to the minimum to keep your investments accounts open (but only up to the minimum you need to get all the matching money.) You're going to reap a whole lot more return on paying off your debts than you can ever hope to reasonably get from traditional investments. If you're paying into a college fund for your kids - keep doing that - if you're not and you really want to, hold off until step 6. Refine your budget to reflect the extra income available, if any.
   5. Build an emergency fund equal to 2% of your gross annual income. It should be a little hard to get to (like a separate checking account or mutual fund), but not too difficult (Certificate of Deposit.) Work this into your budget - it's very important. You will not believe the amount of stress that will melt away when you do this.
   6. Pay off your debts - everything except mortgages. And don't just move your revolving debt into a second or third mortgage - that's bad. Pay them off using a rapid debt paydown system. Pay off any student loans (for future reference, these are a bad idea.) Pay off your car(s) too. If you're not upside down on a car loan (your car is worth more than you owe) you can sell it and get a cheaper, paid for car. Throw a small (inexpensive but fun) party for yourself and your loved ones every time you pay off a debt.
   7. Take all the money you WERE spending to pay off your non-mortgage debt and start putting it into those investment accounts you put on idle. Make sure you're investing at least 10% of your gross income. If you followed steps 1-4 exactly, you should have lots of breathing room in your budget now. If this is true and you want to invest more than 10%, go ahead, but be sure to reward yourself too and live a little. Grow your emergency fund to a level you're comfortabl
      Emergency Quick Loans - When Can a Cash Advance be Helpful to You?
      Let’s face it. Everyone gets a little tight on cash sometimes. Unfortunately, when it is tough to find a spare dime, it’s usually when you need it most, like a flat tire, car problems, or emergency medical bills.So what can you do?The answer exists in front of most people every time they get a paycheck from their employer.Why Apply for Instant Cash?A Payday Loan can be a simple, painless fix for the financial dilemma causing you stress right now. Additionally, the process is proving to be quite simple, and in many cases, you get your money the next day!Essentially, a Payday loan is nothing more than an advance against your future paycheck that gets direct deposited right into your banking account so that
      investment accounts open. If your employer has a stock matching plan, keep that in addition to the minimum to keep your investments accounts open (but only up to the minimum you need to get all the matching money.) You're going to reap a whole lot more return on paying off your debts than you can ever hope to reasonably get from traditional investments. If you're paying into a college fund for your kids - keep doing that - if you're not and you really want to, hold off until step 6. Refine your budget to reflect the extra income available, if any.
   8. Build an emergency fund equal to 2% of your gross annual income. It should be a little hard to get to (like a separate checking account or mutual fund), but not too difficult (Certificate of Deposit.) Work this into your budget - it's very important. You will not believe the amount of stress that will melt away when you do this.
   9. Pay off your debts - everything except mortgages. And don't just move your revolving debt into a second or third mortgage - that's bad. Pay them off using a rapid debt paydown system. Pay off any student loans (for future reference, these are a bad idea.) Pay off your car(s) too. If you're not upside down on a car loan (your car is worth more than you owe) you can sell it and get a cheaper, paid for car. Throw a small (inexpensive but fun) party for yourself and your loved ones every time you pay off a debt.
   10. Take all the money you WERE spending to pay off your non-mortgage debt and start putting it into those investment accounts you put on idle. Make sure you're investing at least 10% of your gross income. If you followed steps 1-4 exactly, you should have lots of breathing room in your budget now. If this is true and you want to invest more than 10%, go ahead, but be sure to reward yourself too and live a little. Grow your emergency fund to a level you're comfortabl
       How Much Can I Make in the Lawn Care Business?
       I am often asked the question, "How much can I make in the Lawn Care Business"? and in addition, I also get asked the second part, "How long will it take me to get there?"Well, those are both loaded questions for ME to answer because I don't know so many variables about the person asking the question. So, let me just give you an example of what COULD happen, a real life example.Earlier today, I received a call from John H. in Alabama. John is a former Pharmacist. I believe John is in his fifties and his lawn care experience prior to now was doing lawns in college and maintaining his own residence.John was as excited on the phone as anyone I've heard from in a long time, here's why....In less than 3 months of starting his Law
       tgages. And don't just move your revolving debt into a second or third mortgage - that's bad. Pay them off using a rapid debt paydown system. Pay off any student loans (for future reference, these are a bad idea.) Pay off your car(s) too. If you're not upside down on a car loan (your car is worth more than you owe) you can sell it and get a cheaper, paid for car. Throw a small (inexpensive but fun) party for yourself and your loved ones every time you pay off a debt.
   11. Take all the money you WERE spending to pay off your non-mortgage debt and start putting it into those investment accounts you put on idle. Make sure you're investing at least 10% of your gross income. If you followed steps 1-4 exactly, you should have lots of breathing room in your budget now. If this is true and you want to invest more than 10%, go ahead, but be sure to reward yourself too and live a little. Grow your emergency fund to a level you're comfortable with (2 or more months of income is a good start.) If you have young kids and you want to send them to college, start putting money into a college fund of your choice for them, if you haven't already. Throw a bigger party than usual when this is done.
   12. Pay off your mortgage and throw your biggest party yet! You can start towards this by refinancing to a single fixed rate mortgage (your credit should be in pretty good shape having paid off all your other debts.) If it's a 30 year mortgage, pay more than your monthly payment to dramatically lower the amount of interest you give to the bank. If it's a 15 year fixed - wow! That's excellent!
   13. When you're totally debt free, regularly give away whatever you think you can afford. It's good for the soul!

   Easy? Not. Worth it? Doing the above will pay dividends in your life in many more ways than just dollars and cents. You will assure yourself a dignified and financially secure retirement. Do this well and you will also build a way for your kids and your grandkids to enjoy prosperous lives, and they will remember you with fondness and respect long after you've moved on to the other side. Now get started!