While parents with growing children may find it difficult to save, the key is starting early. No matter how young you are, Dr. Carlson believes that it's important to learn about the retirement plan at your workplace and get involved in it. Budgeting To begin saving money in the first place, said Dr. Carlson, most people need to budget. By sitting down with bills and records, a person can find out what they spend on average on their home, food, utilities and other expenses. Inflows are easier to understand, since most people know how much they earn.
Outflows can be more difficult.
But even these need to be built into the budget, said Dr. Carlson. The expert noted that most people have a lot of expenses, but their mistake usually falls in not watching where their money is going. Another error for families can happen when one person consistently takes care of the bills. If one person usually pays the bills, he said, the other should try it for a month to better understand it. Either way, people who want to cut their budget need to look at the categories they can control.