Some people say that the key to managing money well is to ‘live within your means’. You need to make sure that your monthly costs and expenses are less than your income, which is the amount you earn after taxes have been taken out. If you can live within your means, then you'll be able to stay out of debt and save.
A good way to establish if you are living within your means, is to keep a daily record of where your money goes during a typical month.
When spending exceeds income, Americans overwhelmingly turn to credit to make ends meet. Among respondents who said their spending exceeded their income in the last 12 months, 43% said they used credit to make ends meet.
