"A perfect read as a financial primer. Weston's solid and occasionally humorous writing shines through . . . [and] takes this book from being yet another personal finance book to being an enjoyable read I would recommend."— The Simple Dollar Millions of us skate by from paycheck to paycheck. We all have financial goals we want (or need) to achieve, but are perplexed by how to get there. But expert financial advisor Liz Weston has carved a path, with ten simple strategies that help anyone avoid critical mistakes, survive downturns, and make the numbers work. Debunking well-trod myths (pay down all your debt immediately) while giving unexpectedly brilliant tips (it's okay to let student loans linger), Liz Weston outlines everything you need to become financially viable, including how to:    • Know what you can afford    • Create a survival plan with cash and credit    • Manage "good debt" to get ahead    • Save for retirement without sacrificing today "A wonderful basic personal finance book [with] enough counterintuitive ideas to keep even people who know a bit about personal finance reading further."— The New York Times "Where other authors often get it wrong, Weston gets it right. She digs into the data like nobody else."— Elisabeth Leamy, ABC News "A perfect read as a financial primer. Weston's solid and occasionally humorous writing shines through . . . [and] takes this book from being yet another personal finance book to being an enjoyable read I would recommend." — The Simple Dollar   Liz Weston is the most-read personal finance columnist on the Internet. Her twice-weekly columns for MSN Money generate 10 million page views each month, and millions more read her Q&A columns that appear in newspapers including the Los Angeles Times and the Cleveland Plain Dealer , as well as her regular column for AARP . She is a frequent commentator on American Public Media’s Marketplace Money  and contributor to National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation  and All Things Considered . Her television appearances include Dr. Phil , Today Show , NBC Nightly News , Fox Business and CNBC’s Power Lunch . 1st COMMANDMENT Create a Budget That Works in the Real World THE OLD-SCHOOL RULES: Live within your means. THE BUBBLE ECONOMY RULES: Live to the max, with easy low payments. THE NEW RULES: Use the 50/30/20 budget to know what you can really afford and what you can't. The first step in creating a financial plan that works is to create a budget that works. But as the financial world has gotten more complex, so, too, has the budgeting process, and many people wind up flailing. People's situations vary so widely that there's no cut-and-dried answer to "How much should I be spending on X?" THE TRADITIONAL ADVICE GOES SOMETHING LIKE THIS: Gather up your pay stubs and bill statements from the last few months. Carry a notebook and pencil for a few weeks so you can write down every expenditure that's not captured in your bill statements. Combine your notebook entries with your bills to see where your money is going. - Don't forget to budget savings for retirement, college savings, emergency funds, your next car purchase, your next vacation . . . Slice and dice and tweak until you have a budget that matches your income—at least until the next expense comes along that you forgot to account for and that blows your whole plan out of whack. This track, trim and retrench method actually can work if you're persistent about it and if your basic expenses are reasonable relative to your income. If your overhead is too high, though, the hours you spend crafting and trying to follow a budget are going to be a huge waste of time. Now, frankly, there is so much more to keep track of than there used to be that formulating this kind of budget can also make you a little crazy. You simply won't have the ability to simultaneously cover your current bills, pay off your past (your debt), save for the future (retirement, college, emergencies) and• enjoy your life today. One or more of those four categories will wind up getting sacrificed, no matter how good your intentions or how much time you spend fiddling with a spreadsheet. On the other hand, I can't tell you exactly how much you should spend in any given category. A twenty-something with no debt might be able to afford a much bigger rent payment, relative to her income, than a family juggling car payments, student loans and child care. A homeowner in the Northeast will almost certainly spend more on utilities than his counterpart in California. People covered by traditional pensions can get away with saving less of their incomes for retirement than those who have a 401(k) with no match, or no workplace plan at all. There is, however, a budget system that can work on just about any income and in virtually every situation. It will give you the flexibility you need to help you live your life while building financial security and minimizing the chances a setback