One of the first lessons that I have learned about money was to create a plan for the money coming in and the money that had to go out. All of the research that I conducted had to do with sane formulas to keep expenses within certain ratios that would allow a balance between the wants and needs... aka Priorities.

Without going into too much detail on the breakdowns of those ratios, I found that a realistic housing ratio hovers around 30% of income. For those with an income of a hundred thousand dollars a year a 30% housing allowance can offer a very nice place to live, however, that was never my income level. As I am crawling quickly into retirement income, 30% is no longer feasible without paying off our mortgage in full by retirement. The priorities of budgeting require separating those wants and needs. The needs are housing (rent/mortgage, utilities, etc); transportation; food; taxes/insurance; and so forth. The wants must be planned from whatever is left. Any shortfall must be worked out between lowering expenses, shopping around, finding alternatives, and/or increasing income. It's common sense... to a point.

If any of you have tips and tricks on how you budget and experiences you've had with "lowering expenses, shopping around, finding alternatives, and/or increasing income," this would be a great place to share them.

Over the past few years I have cut my cable TV bill drastically; found awesome web resources for coupons and promo codes as well as comparison shopping tools; roll my own cigarettes; use the library in person and online; held yard sales; and paying more than minimums on credit card and loan balances. The results are savings of a few hundred dollars a month. YAY.

I believe that I still have more priorities to juggle. I would be interested in YOUR tips and tricks to help me and others.

Any insight or advice? What has or is working for YOU?