It seems like there is a rule to raises. Whenever you get a raise, you will find a way to spend every new dollar, and find yourself no better off than before. I was reminded of this when I read a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The story "How To Live On $36,000 a Year" was published in 1924 by The Saturday Evening Post, and gives a very entertaining look at how easy it is to justify living above, or right at ones means.

Fitzgerald did not begin as a wealthy author, but had to work his way up and did find success quickly. That success led to more money and in his words, "because my income had a way of doubling every month. This was actually the case. It had done so for several months - I had made only thirty-five dollars the previous August, while here in April I was making three thousand- and it seemed as if it was going to do so forever. At the end of the year it must reach half a million"

His income increased so quickly there was probably quite a bit of rationalization about living up to a certain standard, and even deserving it, but when combined with the assumption that his wages would continue to rise he moved into a dangerous place where he could think about spending money that he did not have. This, of course, happens and one day his wife, Zelda, asks him why he is so depressed, "'I'm not depressed,' I answered cheerfully; 'I'm just surprised. We haven't got any money.'"

Even without money to actually pay for his lifestyle Fitzgerald continued to ignore his financial situation, "I wasn't poor- they couldn't fool me. Poverty meant being depressed and living in a small remote room and eating a rotisserie on the corver, while I- why, it was impossible that I should be poor! I was living at the best hotel in New York!" Fitzgerald is obviously writing this for effect, and knows that he has no money because he lives in the best hotel in New York, but I know that I have wondered why I don't have any money saved up only to look at the various things I had recently purchased to be reminded by what I could have gone without.

Sometimes, we are able to continue to ignore our financial instability, and in Fitzgerald's case he was able to because he was continuously earning more money, but could not seem to keep his head above water due to indulging in such luxuries as, "having a baby and a trip to Europe" It seems a bit much to say that having a baby is a luxury but according to this story from NPR they are certainly not cheap.

Fitzgerald had a novel solution to get out of the trouble he was in. "I'll just have to get out of this mess the only way I know how, by making more money."

This, actually, is not a bad idea. Sometimes the only way to gain headway on paying down debt is to actually find more work and devote that additional income to paying off debt. This is by no means fun, and if you do as Fitzgerald did, and simply spend the money it will only leave you more exhausted and in the same position as you started.

In the end, Fitzgerald decided to actually settle on a budget and live off of it, but cannot get over the years worth of income he lost. He knows full and well the mistakes that he has made with his spending, but is still unprepared to actually come to terms with living within his means. To sum everything up the key to all personal finance is simply to spend less than you make. This does not sound like fun, but will eventually lead to less stress and financial freedom. You can read the whole story here, and let us know what you think of F. Scott Fitzgerald's habits.

[Images Via 1 | Via 2]

The real nitty gritty of personal finance is dull and tedious. When it comes down to it if you don't actually track what you spend then you will probably be left wondering where all your money went at the end of the month.

One of the benefits of dutifully tracking your spending is that it can lead to some shocking surprises. For example I made 14 trips to the burger stand in the last month. Did I need to make that many trips? I'm sure my wallet and waistline both would appreciate a change in my habits, but I never would have realized how bad it was unless I had been keeping tabs on my spending. I would have had a feeling that I was eating a few more cheeseburgers than I should, but when presented with a cold hard number it is a lot easier to decide to make a change.

Everyone needs to find a balance and figure out a system that works best for them. My sister swears by her excel spreadsheet. She keeps every single receipt and then enters them manually to track her spending. That is not the system for me. I use a spreadsheet, but I prefer to export my data once a month out of TDECU's Online Banking System and then sort out what I've spent and see where I can improve.

This is a great place to start when thinking about putting together a personal finance spreadsheet. Most of the work goes into setting up the initial one, but once that work is done mainting is fairly easy. If you aren't up for such a high-tech solution you could try what out our Young & Free Texas Spokesperson, Josh Garrett, does. He writes down all of his spending and does the math by hand in a notebook.

Or, if you're not up for trying to figure out exactly where all of your money is going, but do want to set limits figure out broad categories for your budget and live off of the envelope system. Each payday withdraw the money that you need and place it in corresponding envelopes (Fast Food, Entertainment, Etc) and then once the envelope is empty you're out of luck until next month. This will help you keep from reaching for the debit card when you know that you shouldn't. Another thing that can put a stop to impulse buys is the $50 rule, and you can read about that here.

Everything listed about are just ideas, and places to start, but unless you actually sit down and do it nothing will happen. Are there any other unique ways for budgeting or tracking your spending that you use? Let us know!

I've always had a hard time saving, and always told myself that I would start when I got my next paycheck. The plan that i had was to put away a certain percentage before I even touched the money, but I always found myself unwilling to see such a large sum of money go away.

Yesterday, I was reading some of what Ramit Sethi has to say over at IWillTeachYouToBeRich.com. While I was there I stumbled upon this article. The premise of the article is to start saving you should begin by taxing yourself on all the purchases you make. For instance if I spent $100 on groceries and and I was taxing myself %10 then I should put $10 into my savings account. This way I am saving as I spend, and it will effect my spending habits because everything will cost more than the sticker price. This should lead to lower overall spending, and increased savings.

I am actually excited about saving this way, and have already made a deposit into my savings account. The real trick will be the follow through.  Hopefully, I will be able to!

 What are some of the ways that you all save?

I've been a long-time reader of Get Rich Slowly. When I saw a recent post on "reverse credit" I was a little put off by the title. I'd label this technique more accurately "gift card budgeting."

JD points out the pros and cons of gift cards in another post, but I really like the idea of both saving for big items and making regular small purchases through this high tech form of envelope budgeting.