Problem: Article: If you want to change your financial situation, you need to get specific about want you want to accomplish. Think about exactly what you want your finances to look like and what you can do to achieve those goals. Setting short-term goals in addition to long-term goals can help keep you motivated by providing you with a sense of accomplishment. Create a budget for non-essential items and hold yourself accountable for it each month. If you go over-budget one month, tell yourself that your budget for the next month is reduced as a result. If you're spending beyond your means because you feel that you need to keep up with your friends or show others that you can afford a certain lifestyle, you're not doing yourself any favors. Stop worrying about what others can afford and think about how you can live within your means. Stop equating your self-worth with your ability to buy things. This kind of thinking will make you extremely unhappy in the long run and will probably get you stuck in debt forever. Change your attitude on consumer goods. Stop reading fashion, home style, and consumer technology magazines and watching flashy TV shows that make you feel bad about not having the latest designer item, gadget, or home improvement item. Choose quality products that will last a long time, but don't pay more for brand-name items just because they are fashionable. To understand exactly where all your money is going, keep careful track of every dollar you spend. You can do this with a pen and paper or electronically if you use a card for everything, but make sure to account for everything. This simple habit will help you spend more wisely. Try categorizing your expenses and adding them up on a monthly basis. For example, you could create categories for food, housing, transportation, utilities, insurance, entertainment, and clothing. Then calculate what percentage of your income you are spending on each category. You might realize that your expenses in some of these categories are way too high. When purchasing a non-essential item, try thinking about how many hours you would have to work to pay for it. Make sure to plan for large expenses too. For example, if you pay $600 for car insurance twice a year, calculate $100/month into your expenses. To understand how much you can afford to spend each day, subtract your fixed expenses from your monthly income and divide the remaining amount by 31. If you are broke because you have credit card debt, a car payment, or student loans, think about what you can do to pay off these debts faster. Making even a few extra payments each year can help you pay off your debts much faster. While making extra payments towards your debt might make your budget even tighter in the immediate future, it will pay off in the long run because you will be debt-free much sooner. Make sure you understand how long it will take you to pay off your credit cards if you only pay the minimum amount due and how much you will end up paying in interest. You may be able to renegotiate the terms of your loans to get better interest rates. It doesn't hurt to ask! This may seem impossible if you are always broke, but planning for the future will help you get out of this cycle. Start small by just putting $50 in an emergency fund each month. Don't forget to save for retirement! Take advantage of the 401k offerings at your company or open an IRA account. Saving money is much easier if you set up automatic withdrawals from your paycheck or your checking account so you never have to think about it. Never deplete your savings for whims.
Summary: Set goals. Stop comparing yourself to others. Track your expenses. Make a plan for getting out of debt. Start saving.

Problem: Article: Before you decide on a public promposal, make sure you think carefully about the ramifications. If you think your boyfriend might be embarrassed by a public invitation, it may be best to stick to something more private. It's also important to consider the possibility that your boyfriend might say no, so a public invitation may be embarrassing for you as well. If you want to make a big display of your promposal, consider decorating something that everyone else will see, like his locker or his car. You can use sticky notes, streamers, wrapping paper, balloons, and anything else you can think of to make your message extra flashy. Consider hiding your message inside of a balloon to keep him guessing. If you want the message to be semi-private, you can decorate his front lawn or garage door so he will see your message as soon as he gets home (and so will all the neighbors). Get friends involved in your promposal by having them spell out a message for your boyfriend. They can each wear part of the message on their clothing, or they can carry large signs. You can make this kind of promposal as public as you want by choosing the right location. If you just want his friends to be there, arrange it around a small get-together. If you want the whole school to see it, you can have your friends display their message in the cafeteria or at a sporting event. If your boyfriend plays a sport or is involved in a club, he might really appreciate it if you incorporated these interests into your promposal. For example, you could arrange for the members of his football team to spell out "prom?" with notes taped to their helmets, or you could ask the drama club to hold up a banner for him at the end of a performance. You can even have your friends do a performance for him, like a choreographed dance or a skit, if they're willing. If you want a truly public promposal, try to put up a giant banner or sign where everyone will see it. If you have a large budget, you could rent space for your message on a billboard or jumbotron, or even have an airplane sky-write your message. Only use this method if you're absolutely sure that your boyfriend will not mind a grand display and you're fairly confident that he will say yes. If you're working with a limited budget, consider asking your school if you can hang a banner somewhere visible. You can also consider asking a nearby local business if you can hang your sign on their building or use their changeable sign to display your message for a few hours. If you're brave enough, you can try asking your school if you can make the daily announcements and ask your boyfriend to prom in front of the entire school. If your boyfriend is a social addict, post something on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or another social media site. Make sure it is appropriate, because it will be on the Internet forever. Depending on your own personal preferences, your message can be simple and to the point, or it can be more elaborate. You could, for example, consider posting a cryptic message that he needs to decode or picture of yourself holding up a sign asking him to prom.
Summary:
Proceed with caution. Decorate something. Enlist the help of others. Create a public display. Make an announcement. Post it on social media.