When it comes to proper money management, learning to budget your money and maintaining an ongoing budget planner are important. However, there’s no one right way to budget your money. You can jot your income and expenses down on paper, you can keep a sophisticated budget spreadsheet or use a free, online budget planner.

Whichever you choose, be sure to avoid these budget planning mistakes.

• Don’t have a budget planner at all. How will you able to know the state of your finances if you don’t have a budget planner or never write your income and expenses down? You have no way to know if you’re spending more than you’re making. If you don’t manage your money well, it will manage you by having debts, interest charges, bad credit and the like. (more…)