If you find yourself having trouble controlling your spending, it is a good idea to have a budget that you strictly follow.  The following tips were collected from both the Money Management page and the Cash Course.

• Use a spreadsheet or notebook to track money coming in as well as money you spend.  You can’t control your budget (or your spending) if you don’t know what you do with your money.
• To create your budget, first make a list of your monthly “big” expenses:  rent, utilities, car payments, insurance, tuition, and savings.  These are expenses that can’t be controlled–you know you have them every month.
• Once this is done, set aside room in your budget for other necessities, such as groceries and gas money, as well as “fun” money.  These expenses can be controlled–after you’ve tracked your purchases for a week or so, you’ll know how you can cut back on the amount of “fun” money you spend on unessesary items or “on a whim” purchases.
• You can also use your budget to plan for purchases you know you want to buy, such as a new computer.  Split the cost out over several months and set that amount aside every month.
• Use your credit card sparingly.  It’s easy to be tempted to buy things when you don’t see the money.  If you do use a credit card, be sure to pay off the bill in full before the due date–credit card companies make their money by charging you interest and late fees.  Too many missed payments and your interest rates could sky-rocket!  This can have disastrous effects on your credit, not to mention all the extra fees that you probably didn’t budget for.
• SAVE!!! To save money effectively, you should build savings (even if it is just a dollar) into your monthly budget.  When you get a paycheck, set aside a portion to go directly to savings–pay yourself first!  Another quick and easy way to save is to use a “penny” jar that you can dump all your loose change into at the end of the day.  Deposit this change directly into your savings account.