Article: If you have to live on a tight budget, you must be aware of exactly how much money you’re making and spending every month. Add up and compare all of your bank statements, bills, receipts, paychecks, and anything else you need to fully track your income and spending. This will let you see how much money you’re working with and what changes you need to make.  Carefully note how much money you make each month. Mentally set aside enough to cover income taxes you'll pay later if you don't have enough automatically deducted from your paychecks. If you're an independent contractor, you’ll want to set aside roughly 20% of your income for taxes. Place that money in an interest-bearing account for use come tax season. If you have sources of irregular income, include them in your calculations. Track your spending. Write down how much you spend on groceries, rent, car expenses, and so on. See which ones you can cut back and which can’t be changed. Know whether you’re making as much as you're spending. The goal is to be able to save at least a bit of money every month. If that seems impossible, look carefully at every expenditure, and be creative in finding ways to reduce them even a little. For instance, if you find you're spending a lot on clothing, ask yourself if you simply like the act of shopping. Do you really need more clothes? If you find that you’ve spent too much on entertainment, find new ways of eating and otherwise enjoying yourself at home. Find cheap ways to have fun outdoors, too: hiking, sports, or just enjoying a nice day with a few friends and a picnic basket full of food. Know ahead of time how much money you can spend on specific things every month. If you run out of money in that category before the month is over, you'll know to be more careful the following month.  Frugality is easier to embrace when you have a worthwhile goal in mind: avoiding debt collectors, for example, or saving for the future. Tracking every single expenditure may seem like an unpleasant chore, but you may find that it becomes a useful and eye-opening habit. It should help you live within your means, which ultimately will make your life much easier. There is software available for most devices that allows you to make a budget and track your spending. Expense Manager and Expenditure are two examples. Permit yourself a small amount to spend frivolously. You'll be more careful about this if you use cash instead of credit. A good way to stick to your budget is to have a clear idea of when you absolutely need something and when you just think you need it. Make a list of all the things you buy regularly. Consider whether you can reduce or even eliminate them from your life. What do we really need, after all, to stay alive? Some food, water, a bit of shelter. Everything else is discretionary when you think about it. So how interested are you in living a life free of financial worry?  How much is a good night's sleep worth to you? Here are some places to start economizing:   If you go out to eat, skip the appetizers, and enjoy dessert at home. Do you need to get manicures and pedicures twice a month? Cut that down to once a month or once every other month. Do you absolutely have to buy season tickets for sports or theater? You can save a lot of money if you attend only a few games or shows a year and watch at home the rest of the time. Do you need to get drunk every time you go out with friends? If so, you may have the wrong friends. But if you occasionally decide to stay sober and drive, you’ll save a lot on cab fare (to say nothing of the booze). In any case, don't drive if you’re drunk just to save cab fare! Do you need to "impulse buy" that magazine when you're standing in the check-out line? You could read the highlights online or borrow the issue from a library. If you buy a lot of issues, consider subscribing instead. One of the most obvious ways to live on a tight budget is to make more money. Picking up a few extra hours at work each week can help.  So can the following:   Try your hand at babysitting, dog walking, or pet-sitting. Ask your neighbors if they need any help. Deliver newspapers in your neighborhood. Tutor kids at your local library. You can find part-time work tutoring for an SAT prep company if you score well on their practice test. Be a mystery shopper, drive for a company like Uber or Lyft, or hire yourself out through TaskRabbit. If you have a full-time job, talk to your boss about picking up more hours or taking on added responsibility in return for a raise. If you’re going away for a few days, offer your home on airbnb.

What is a summary?
Make a budget. Have a plan. Separate your wants from your needs. Find ways to make more money.