These guides will help you spend your money wisely!

The best way to manage your money and stay out of debt is to have a strategy in place before the expenses or temptations arise.

BEGIN WITH A BUDGET. A budget is a road map that guides you and tells you when you are on course. Budgeting won't ensure prosperity, but it will keep you from overspending your resources and will help you avoid the debt trap.

DECIDE TO FOLLOW THE BUDGET. Most people understand the need for a good budget, but few follow through. Only few families operate on a budget. Fifty percent say they want to budget but never get around to it. Make your plan and stick to it.

PRIORITIZE YOUR EXPENDITURES. Make a list of what is most important to you. Start with the necessities (housing, food, car, utilities, insurance and taxes). Then list what you “should have” (clothing, furniture, etc.). Finally, list the things you'd like to have.

PAY BILLS ON TIME. Establish a budget that allows you to pay all your bills in full and on time each month. If you can't pay them all, pay something on all of them and communicate your intentions of paying everything to those you owe. If you can't pay your regular bills, it's time to move to a smaller house, drive an older model car, or make drastic cuts until your outgo matches your income.

GET OUT OF DEBT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Debt carries with it heavy responsibilities. Don't allow yourself to become a slave to creditors. Don't take on debt unless you have a clear plan for repaying it. Certainly stay away from debt if it is a habit out of control.

PLAN FOR EMERGENCIES. Small emergencies can eat at your budget every month unless you begin to set aside funds as part of your budget. For example, the dog gets sick, your car radiator dies, time for back-to-school clothes, etc.

HAVE SOME FUN. Use your resources for personal enjoyment. After you have managed your money wisely and given generously, there comes a time for you to enjoy the fruits of your labors.

IF YOU HAVE A FAMILY, INVOLVE THEM. When you create a list of priorities, it's important to involve your whole family so everyone understands the priorities and is focused on the goals.

IF YOU HAVE A SPOUSE, ASSIGN THE JOB OF PAYING THE BILLS. This isn't about control, since both should fully understand the financial situation and goals, but about the most capable person taking on the job.

FINALLY, Most times we buy things we already have, if you have one why buy another?, why not exhaust the one you have first so that you can channel the money into something more important at that moment. Before i buy anything i simply ask myself, 'can i do without this thing now or later'? , Do i have an alternative? If the answer is yes, it means that thing is not all that important. If you have something that serve a particular purpose, that is enough! you do not need to have plenty whereby they become useless. Simply get other important things instead. For instance, you won't believe people spend more because of the following reasons; you buy two blue bags because they look so amazing, two pair of same shoes because that design is your favorite so you bought extra for keeps, a set of brush (10 in 1) when you can actually use one for a long time, different flavors of the same brand of fragrance just because you like the product, extra bunch of banana because you found them cheaper than you budgeted so you wanted to be wise (must you spend it all?), all the different colors of socks you found in a store because they looked so nice and you found it difficult to choose etc DO YOU WANT TO SELL THEM? WHY BUY WHOLESALE? You might of course end up selling them anyway when you realise how unecessary they are and you need the money (you finally give them away when you don't find a buyer). The truth is all these extras might not be used on the long run or might even go out of fashion before you know it because you will always get better things next time and regret why you bought the previous ones in the first place. Always spend money strictly on what you need MOST!