Getting organized is easy. And the benefits are dramatic.

Budgets make the things you want possible.

If you've ever tried to create a budget and failed, you're not alone. Many have. Usually because they weren't sure how to go about it. You see, most people try to assign an amount of money they'll spend on different items without knowing how much they actually spend, first. The result is a false sense of how expensive their life truly is, and a failed attempt at budgeting. But creating and monitoring a budget is really pretty simple with programs like Quicken and Microsoft Money. Or even by hand. Here's how:

Create your budget.

1. Grab all of your receipts for the last three months.
2. Assign expenses to logical categories: food, mortgage/rent, utilities, insurance, car payments, clothing, entertainment, etc... Add the categories up by month and compare. This gives you an idea of the average expense for each area.
3. Subtract each category's total from your monthly income.
4. Hopefully you came up with a positive number. If yes, the extra should be going into savings or investments. Is it? If no, it's time to look back at your expenses sheet. And start cutting.
5. Whatever you came up with in step 4, look back at your totals for each category. Are you comfortable with them? Don't be surprised if you're not. People often spend more than they realize.

Monitor your budget.

1. Get an expandable file folder with lots of pockets.
2. Label three pockets for each category, "Food this month," "Food last month," "Food 2 months ago," "Health & Beauty this month," etc. Don't bother with fixed expenses like the mortgage, or car payments.
3. With every purchase, slip the receipt in the right pocket. At the end of the month, add up the receipts in each "this month" pocket and move them to "last month." Move "last month" receipts to "2 months ago" and recycle "2 months ago" receipts.
4. Compare your actual expenses at the end of the month with your budgeted amount to see if you're staying on track.

Once you've got this system set up, you'll find it easy to keep within the limits you've set. And, you'll have receipts for every purchase going back three months – in case you need to return something.

Nothing saves the day like savings.

One thing every household needs to have its finances in order is a healthy savings account. Money that's available at a moment's notice for emergencies, large purchases, or fleeting opportunities. How much should be in your account? Experts say enough to cover expenses for three to six months. More than that and you're needlessly sacrificing income from better investments. Less, and you run the risk of not being able to weather injury, illness or a run of bad luck.

What does it take to save?

Saving simply takes a separate account that you don't dip into. Higher-level savers might want monthly automatic transfers into the account. Or overnight sweeps that increase the return by investing the money every night and returning it the next morning. Or even to step up to Certificates of Deposit (CDs). But since this is supposed to be your emergency fund, make sure you don't lock your money up in a way you can't get to it.

One way to maximize returns and maintain access is to "ladder" CDs. That's when you split your money into three or more equal parts and buy CDs with varying times to maturity.

For example, instead of buying one $3,000 1-year CD, buy:

1 $1,000 3-month CD
1 $1,000 6-month CD
1 $1,000 1-year CD
As each CD matures, reinvest it in a 1-year CD.

You'll get higher rates on the 1-year CDs than the 3 and 6-month CDs – and higher rates on those than from a savings account. But you'll never be more than three months away from getting money back.

Not just a checking account. Your cash flow control center.

You can get by without a lot of things, but a checking account isn't one of them. It's the core of your finances and the best way to manage the flow of your money. So what do you need to know about this most important of bank accounts?

1. You don't have to pay a fee.
   While monthly, or per-check, charges used to be common, you can now find free checking almost anywhere. There may be an account minimum, though, so ask.

2. You don't have to bounce a check.
   If you sometimes find yourself near empty in your account, you may want overdraft protection. It's a line of credit that's only activated if you go below $0.

3. The best deals aren't always local.
   With the rise of Internet banking, you can now get better rates and lower fees. And do it electronically, or by mail.

4. Checks don't clear in order.
   If your balance is low and there's one large check and a bunch of small ones outstanding, the bank may process the big one first so they can charge multiple insufficient funds fees.

5. Don't play the float.
   Now that checks are processed digitally, there's no delay between being deposited and presented for processing. So, if you're used to writing checks on money that hasn't cleared yet, stop.