$ave By Getting A Grip On Your Finances

Everybody's looking to save money these days.

But it's tough to save if you don't have a handle on how much money you actually have, or where it's going each month.

In The Early Show's "Save a Bundle" series Friday, financial contributor Vera Gibbons offered a plan to help you improve your money management -- and begin to trim your expenses in the process -- in two months or less.

Many people can't tell you how much they spend on dining out each month, for instance. Plenty of folks probably can't even tell you how much they pay for cable or car insurance.

But more than ever before, people need to have insight into their finances.

And that can seem overwhelming.

So, Gibbons broke the process down into four steps.

If you follow her advice, you can begin managing your money better in just two months!

WEEKS 1-4: TRACK SPENDING

Before you can find ways to save money, you need to know how much you're spending. A new study finds that Americans "lose" $2,938 a year -- they have no idea where they've spent that money. It amounts to $57 a week!

There are several FREE online programs out there that enable you to easily track your spending.

Mint.com is a popular one. Quicken, which most people know as a software program, also has a great online service that's totally free. Once you plug in some initial information, these sites will track how much you've spent on your credit cards/debit card automatically, then divide the money into categories such as dining, rent, insurance, etc. That will enable you to easily see where your money is going.

WEEKS 5 AND 6: EVALUATE SPENDING

Take a look at how you're spending your money. At this point in the game, financial experts love to say, "You'll be shocked to see how much you spend eating out each month!" While that may be true, it's also an obvious item to pinpoint as a problem spending area. Take the next couple of weeks to really dig into your finances.

There are several area where you may not think about cutting costs, such as:
* Credit card interest rates
* Cable/Internet/Phone
* Auto/Homeowner's insurance rates

If you manage to tweak each of those areas, you could easily save thousands of dollars! Take the time to investigate how you can save in these areas, then do it!

WEEKS 7 AND 8: SET GOALS, DEVELOP A PLAN

Now that you know what you're spending and how much you may be able to save each month, figure out some more specific savings goals. Studies show that you'll save more successfully if you have a specific goal in mind. Want to save for your child's education? A vacation? A bigger home? Set the goal, then lay out a plan to meet it.

Of course, in the meantime, you need to figure out WHERE to put this money you're saving. That's something else you should set up during these two weeks: Saying you're going to save money is one thing, but actually having a designated place for the money to live and having it sent there automatically is a big part of the battle.

You won't find great interest rates on money market savings accounts or CDs at big banks right now. Instead, you need to look at online banks and accounts. For instance, the average rate on a money market savings account right now 1.45 percent. But check out these examples:
*zionsbank.com: 2.25%
*corusbank.com: 2.41%

If you don't feel comfortable putting your money into an online bank account, look into community banks and credit unions; rates will definitely be better there than those at big banks.

WEEK 9: IMPLEMENT YOUR PLAN!

Now, you're ready to put your plan into action. Of course, some people may say this is where the hard part starts! Having a plan is one thing, sticking to it is another.

But here are a couple of general tips on controlling spending:

For starters, use cash whenever possible. You have much more of an emotional attachment to your cash; it hurts more to hand over $80 in cash than to swipe your credit card. There are statistics to back this up, showing that you spend 12 to 18 percent more when shopping with credit cards as opposed to cash.

One potential pitfall facing many people soon will be their tax refund checks: People have fewer qualms spending "found" money like a refund check, bonus or inheritance. When you receive your refund check, put it in your checking account for at least a week. Mingling this "found" money with your regular earnings mentally helps convert it to savings, or hands-off money.