Here are 9 steps to create a successful budget:

1. Set Your Short and Long-Term Goals

The first step is to have savings goals; make both short-term and long-term goals. A short-term goal could be saving for an emergency fund or a trip. Long-term goals could be saving for retirement or any other life events in your future. Having goals will help keep you motivated.

2. Plan the Monthly Amount You Need to Save In Order to Meet Your Goal

Estimate how much you would need to save monthly in order to meet your goals. To do this, you have to know your income and spending habits. Write down your regular monthly income; if you have side jobs which don’t pay on a regular basis, keep them out for now.

3. Keep Control of Your Expenses

Track your expenses for an entire month. You can use mobile apps, Microsoft Excel or good old pen and paper for this. Don’t exclude anything: even an unexpected, one-off expense. Make it a habit of writing down your spending at the end of each day. If you have difficulty keeping track, try using an online or mobile app such as Mint or TD Spend which automatically track all your spending from any of your accounts that are connected.

4. Categorize Your Expenses

Group your spending into categories like home, utilities, loan payments, credit card payments, entertainment, eating out, etc. Some categories can be non-negotiable like utilities, while others like entertainment can be flexible; it will depend on your situation. Categorizing will help you assess how much you are spending in each category and will help you set limits accordingly.

5. Discover How Much Money You Have Left at The End of The Month

At the end of the month, subtract your spending from what you have earned. The amount left goes into your savings.

6. Review Your Expenses

Review your spending: what categories did you spend most in? Were there unexpected expenses? How much went into savings? Do you think that you can reduce spending in some categories?

7. Adjust Your Expenses

Based on your one-month experiment, decide how much you can or want to spend in each category. Be realistic while doing this and be ready to make some compromises. If you are not meeting your savings goals, you will need to either cut spending in some areas or increase your income.

8. Reward Yourself

Budgeting is a lot like dieting. Just like having cheat days on a diet, make room in your budget to treat yourself occasionally. This will prevent you from feeling deprived.

9. Make Tracking Your Income and Spending a Habit

This will help you see how much of your goal you have achieved. Even if you sometimes falter, keeping your goals in mind will help you get back on track.