Does your household budget support your monthly finances or do you find that sometimes there is simply “too much month for your money”? Seeking the help of a payday loan to get a little extra money to get you through the month is not a bad thing unless your budget doesn’t allow you to pay it back. Sometimes it can be difficult to manage your money, even with the help of a short-term loan. But when you understand how to manage your money and can stay in control of your financial budget, a few simple fixes may be all you need to get back on track and work toward paying off a payday loan.

The first thing to know about money management is that you need a budget. While the act of budgeting isn’t that difficult, some people don’t like to sit back and face the reality of how much money comes in and goes out of their finances each month. Once you can control how much you earn and spend on a monthly basis, it will be much easier to pay off your payday loan, as well as any other bills you have weighing on you. The first step in doing this is to collect your bank, credit card, and loan statements for the last three months. This will help you determine how much you have spent in the last three months by adding up all your costs and dividing that amount by three to get an average. Have you discovered that you are spending more than you earn? It doesn’t seem possible, but that’s what happens when you have to take out short-term loans, borrow from credit cards, or delay car payments because your cash flow is falling short.

Once you’ve accepted how much you actually spend each month, create spending categories for all of your spending. It is always advisable to have a “miscellaneous” category that allows for those recurring or unexpected expenses; maybe a quick payday cash advance. Also, create a category for regular car maintenance, dental visits, or whatever else you do annually, semi-annually, or even every three years.

Next, determine the difference between the “wants” and the “needs” of your expenses. This is a tough one for even the best of budgets. A mortgage or rent, utilities, food and gas are all necessities. Those are things you probably can’t cut from your budget. Cable TV, fancy cell phones and gourmet coffee every morning are, on the other hand, something you should be able to live without. You may have to bite the bullet, so to speak, and cut some of those items from your expenses. The money you save by giving up certain items can help you pay off a payday loan or maybe even avoid the need to borrow in the first place.

Also, take a look at your credit card statements to determine what kind of strain using your credit cards has put on your budget. These handy plastic shopping tools can come at a high price in the form of interest. In the long run, you will end up paying a lot more for what you buy if you can’t pay your balance every month. The sooner you pay off your credit cards, the sooner you will have more money in your budget each month. In any case, pay more than your minimum payment, but remember that paying off your payday loan should also be a priority. If you can’t pay cash for an item, you probably can’t afford it!

There are times when emergency costs increase. It is best to save some money each month in a savings account for these situations. If you have to apply for a payday loan, make sure you can pay it back with your next paycheck and that your budget supports these types of loans.