If you find there is more month then there is money, and you are now trying to burn the midnight oil by working longer hours and overtime.. stand back and take a good long look at where you are spending.

You are spinning your wheels, money goes out the door, and you don't take the time to find out where it is going.. you need more, so then you work more.. does this sound familiar?

Been there done that, then got sick!

Nothing like getting very ill, to slow down your pace! .. Do this now, before you make yourself sick.

Write down all your monthly bills, and their payments, then start taking a really good look at them, also write down cash spending, as that adds up easily. Did you know you can bundle your TV, internet, and cell phones with many companies now for greater savings?.. Or you can combine cell phone bills in a family, and save on minutes for a cheaper bill.

Also take a look at your credit cards, what are their interest rates?.. If you have more than one, try and combine them onto the lower interest one for a interest savings. If they are all maxed out, then ask one of them for a higher limit and combine all the cards (many companies will do this rather than lose you) but make sure its a good interest rate also.. if that does not work, try talking to your bank about a consolidation loan.. Making minimum payments will not get you out of debt with these cards, its more like renting the card as the minimum is never enough, usually just the interest, so try and deal with these first in order to stop wasting money on "renting the cards"

Walk more than you drive, and save on fuel, combine errands in such a way, you are not driving all over town. Compare your car insurance, if you are older and have a good record there are companies that will give you a good discount, sometimes just telling your present company you are going to change to someone else, will prompt them to take a closer look at your policy for savings..

Most of the time these bills are computer generated and not looked at by a human!.. Phone them up and talk to a human, and you will be surprised at the outcome. Bundling bills works well, but they don't just offer that service, you need to contact them for a better rate.

Try lowering your phone bill, with the right long distance packages that match your calling patterns. No sense having a great deal in the middle of the night, if you are asleep!

Do you really need that latte?.. or would a plain coffee do on the way to work... probably about 1/2 the price. Take your lunch instead of buying, probably save you about 50 dollars a week.. a dollar here and a dollar there.. it really adds up. If you don't believe me, take a note pad and write down EVERY cent you spend for a week, and you will see.

Bank fees are another big one.. take out the money you will need for the week, rather than 20 her and 20 there, as you are charged for extra withdrawals, and they add up as well.

Just go down the list of bills, and see what you can do, if you even manage to save a hundred dollars, then thats a few more hours you don't have to work extra. You can make money, by saving money.. If you cut back on your expenses, rather than trying to work the extra hours, you will see more of the daylight and not burnout..

So, next time you think you need to make another couple hundred bucks a month to get ahead, look at the spending first, you may end up with 300 bucks extra and not have to work the hours... now how is that for a good rate of return?