Mid-January is a tough time for budget resolutions.

Think about it.

January 1st arrives, complete with new hopes and fresh dreams, only to be derailed mid-month by football playoff parties and the after-after Christmas sales. These onslaughts can shake even the most determined BudgetTracker off the resolution bandwagon.

The good news is that we can always start over. The better news is that budgeting doesn’t have to be painful.

First, clearly state those reasons to budget and save.

• I want to get rid of nasty credit card debt;

• I want to pay down auto/student/home mortgage loans;

• I want to build a safety cushion;

• I want to build the “I-can-now-quit-my-job-to-start-my-own-business” fund;

• I want to travel around the world in my new, 300-foot yacht.

Well, the last suggestion is a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the picture.

Keep determined by singing, muttering, or even chanting your reasons over and over again. Do whatever is necessary, even if it means putting post-its all over the house or re-jiggering your BudgetTracker goals. If your family and friends look at you strangely, tell them it’s a new type of meditation practice.

Whatever works, do it.

Next, re-calculate your total fixed monthly expenses. Remember, fixed expenses will include rent, mortgage payments, student loan payments, utilities, child care expenses, phone, gas, cable—all those essentials necessary for keeping a roof over your head.

Subtracting fixed expenses from net income reveals your monthly free cash flow amount. This is what you can use toward your other variable costs. Have more income than fixed expenses? Congratulations, you can now get back on the budgeting bandwagon!

For those new to budgeting, I recommend applying 10% (possibly even 15%) of the free cash flow total toward your goals. Schedule this for three months in a row.

Why three months? And why just 10-15%?

Well, they don’t call them the little things in life for nothing. Just about everyone can manage 10-15% and three months is typically the time it takes to establish a new habit. I’m betting that after three months, you won’t miss the money and will probably be addicted to watching the BudgetTracker transfers mercilessly eat away at the remaining dollar goal amounts.

I’m also betting you’ll bump up the transfer percentage amounts.

Think I’m wrong? Then take the three-month, 10% challenge and let me know how things turn out. If I’m right, I’ll expect to see some serious Debt-Free Strutting on YouTube.

Note: Other options are possible when fixed expenses exceed net income. I plan on discussing these in a later post.

There are several ways to generate extra income without much work. “The Dough Roller” has a good article that helps explain one way to utilize 0 interest credit cards with no balance transfer fees. The idea is that you receive cash from a credit card that doesn’t charge you any interest, then transfer that cash to a savings to generate income off the interest. Once the year is up, pay off the credit card and keep the interest you’ve made. The biggest problem however is making sure you don’t touch the money as well as making sure it gets paid before your one year is up.

The card offers a no interest balance transfer feature for 12 months with NO BALANCE TRANSFER FEE. Just in case there was any confusion with that, the card has NO BALANCE TRANSFER FEE. Oh, it has no annual fee, either. While I’ve found and written about a lot of great balance transfer deals, this is THE best one currently available that I’ve found.

Smart Money Management In Action.