Last year is a year I would like to forget financially, but that is the past I am dusting myself off and moving forward. In addition to having a bunch of unforeseen expenses, some months I spent like crazy without realizing it. I usually pay my credit cards off each month and after I paid my bills this month I realized that I had spent almost $1000 on clothes in November and December. Eh gads! Although the figure is slightly inflated from expensive cashmere coat I bought (on sale), my clothing budget is being greatly reduced in 2010.  These are the things I plan to do to keep myself on track:

• Use budget to manage finances -This is the most important goal
  
• Max out my health spending account HSA
• Save 3 months of expenses in emergency fund
  
• Buy a foreclosure property

A budget is important for me because I'm a numbers person who needs to know exactly how much money I need to make and how much I can spend.  In 2007 and 2008, I used a free spreadsheet called Pear Budget that I loved. It was the first time I saw how much money I needed to make each month to live. As a consultant I bill my hours and the more hours I bill, the more money I make and vice versa. In 2009, I rarely used it and the results show. There is an online version, but I prefer something I can use on my computer.  It is somewhat busy and complex for a spreadsheet, but it has good features like an analysis tab. It lets me see how I am doing in each category for the year. This is going to force me to save all my cash receipts to see how much I really spend each day.  Currently I update it every few days, but even if you do it once a week, it still works. I just have to be careful to not go more than a month to update it. I realize there are easier ways to do this, but it works for me