Which steps should one take when creating a personal budget? Track all income and expenses over a period of time, and then analyze the data to better understand how to move from a deficit to a balanced budget or a balanced budget to a surplus.

Record how one spends money during a holiday weekend, and then look for ways in which to spend more efficiently and make purchases that are more useful in the long term.

Review all of one’s income over a long period of time, decide how it should be spent, and then spend it as planned in a short period of time until all of the income is gone.

Write down what one hopes to earn over a period of time and what one imagines spending in that span, and then do one’s best to stick to that budget and develop a deficit.