A large portion of the population today is living with excessive debt. They shop and spend with no thought of the consequences. In effect, they are not managing their money and debt properly. In order to get a handle on it one must change their attitude about money. It's not an never ending supply of fun but an asset that must be managed.

By cash or card we waste money every day on items we take for granted. The first step in changing your attitude is to create a budget. Think of it as a blueprint to manage your money and debt. One of the reasons we continue to slide further into debt every day is we buy a little here and a little there. We never add it all up. A budget will help you do that.

By changing your attitude about money, you can eventually train yourself to plug those leaks. It doesn't have to be a big shift, you can save a lot with some small tweaks. You have to be diligent to create a budget and then use that tool to regulate your expenditures. Once you know where your money is going, you can make the choices on what and what not to spend your money on.

So how do we control this leaking of money? Very simply, you need to change your attitude toward spending. It's a paradigm shift, but not a large one. You have to budget your funds and control the outgo. Does this mean you can't buy anything. Absolutely not. What it means is you have to know where your money goes and you have to make choices on what you spend it on. You don't just whip out that card willy nilly every time you see something you want.

Often the amount that people waste on minor expenses, such as daily coffees and fast foods can represent a luxury of some kind once a year. But if you like the daily coffee at Starbucks and have to eat lunch out, or not eat at all, then budget for those items and cut back elsewhere, so they fit within your budget. Spending money makes us feel good and solves our emotional problems on some level. At least for a while. But that is short term. The act of saving the money and buying an item knowing it does not add to your debt can be far more rewarding and long lasting.

The wrong attitude about money affects people in all income groups. Rich or poor, business owner or employee, it doesn't matter. With the wrong outlook, you may feel you can always make more money, so you don't pay attention to what you spend. This will come back to haunt you. Change your attitude about debt, credit, and money and improve the quality of your financial life