So you think you can’t save money? Time to think again

You’ve made the promise, now what’s your plan? There are some steps you need to take to prepare for the challenge of change.

Let’s say you made a resolution to save more money.

You might have put a dollar figure to that promise. You decide you want to save $100 every month. But first you have to figure out where to find the money.

I could tell you to do a budget and you’d probably groan. Or procrastinate. Because writing a budget means facing the truth, which is often that you spend more than you should on things you don’t want to give up.

So start instead with a 30-day spending journal. Get a small notebook that you can easily carry with you. Don’t spend a lot on a fancy journal.

In the notebook, create four columns and label them the following way: date, item, cost, and whether the expense was a need or a want.

For 30 days, record every penny you spend, including any bill payments. Don’t edit the entries. Don’t judge yourself. Just record everything.

Once the month is over, go back over your expenditures. It’s at this point that you will begin to challenge yourself. Be critical of your spending. It’s this internal conversation that will help you find extra money. What could you give up to find the $100 you need? Can you bring lunch to work or cancel a subscription, especially for a magazine or gym membership you aren’t reading or using?

Evaluate your spending and find something — anything — to cut to reach your goal. You may be surprised at what you find.

Now let’s say you’ve promised to finally do a budget.

But where to start? There are many free tools online and apps to help you create a budget by making it easy to input your data. What’s hard is being brutally honest with yourself. Your budget won’t be realistic if you don’t get real about what you actually spend.

Finally, let’s say you want to clean up your credit.

This is actually an easy task. Get your credit reports at annualcreditreport.com. If there is anything incorrect, dispute it with the bureaus. The Federal Trade Commission has tips to help clear up inaccurate information. Go to ftc.gov and search for “Credit Repair: How to Help Yourself.”

Don’t pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars to a company promising you a better score by cleaning up your credit reports. If information in the reports is correct, there’s not much you can do but let time go by.

Most negative information in your credit files can stay for seven years. If you declare bankruptcy, it’s 10 years. But as the years pass, the negative information has less impact on your score. Of course there are other things you can do — pay your bills on time — but mostly you just need to be patient.

What all this advice comes down to is preparation. Any promise you made to become a better manager of your financial resources should start with some prep work. It’s like cooking. To make preparing a meal easier, you gather your ingredients beforehand. Doing this ensures you have everything you need to make a good meal. It’s the same with your financial life.