Money-saving tips

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USA Weekend offers "8 Super-Smart Ways to Save" in today's edition.

From buying cars online to renting dresses, they'll all keep your budget in better shape.

Read here: 8 Super-Smart Ways to Save

Saving money, doing more

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During the recession, we're saving money while doing more with our friends and family, reports The New York Times. Let's keep it up after the economy rebounds.

Financial literacy tips

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College students are learning financial literacy, reports The Los Angeles Times. Even if you've already graduated -- or never went to college at all -- it's not too late. And The Easy Budget is one step toward achieving that goal. Download your copy for just $3.50 today.

10 ways to save money

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SmartMoney.com offers 10 ways to save money in 2010, and that makes your Easy Budget even easier. Check out their list here.

Keep up with 'lost' money in your budget

Most unaccounted for cash is spent on groceries.

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About $21 per week in cash spending can't be accounted for by the average American, says a survey commissioned by Visa.
Most of the 1,000 adults surveyed couldn't account for money spent buying groceries. Others couldn't account for money spent during a night on the town and dining out.

Worldwide, people don't know where 20 percent of their cash purchases went.

In younger adults 18-24, $2,500 is unaccounted for per year in the U.S. The poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Since the poll was commissioned by Visa, and only unaccounted for cash purchases were considered, it's likely Visa hopes we'll start putting more purchases on their credit cards. But another way to keep from losing track of these purchases is by using The Easy Budget. It works whether you're spending cash, debit, credit or check.

Does The Easy Budget work with all currencies?

Q. I notice that the cover of "The Easy Budget" features a big dollar sign. Is the budget workable with other currencies?

A. Certainly! Since I get paid in dollars, and dollars are what I spend, I wrote the book from that perspective. But you can substitute any currency: pounds, euros, pesos, yen. For that matter, you could use this system if you traded in pelts or beads. And it will still work long after folding money is a distant memory.

You can buy the book on Amazon.co.uk here.

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The Easy Budget e-book available now

Finished your Christmas shopping? It's time to start on your New Year's resolutions, and atop that list should be getting into better financial shape. It's not as hard as you think.

"The Easy Budget: How to Always Have the Money You Need" helps you figure out how much money you need to set aside for all your expenses, whether they occur annually, monthly or weekly and allocate the money to go into various categories such as Food, Transportation, Clothing and Entertainment. Once you get started, finding ways to save becomes a positive addiction.

This 10-page e-book is downloadable straight to your computer, iPod and more. Order now from lulu.com for only $3.50.