[MairGrif]

When I first got serious about fixing my finances last year, I happened to find Mary Hunt's Debt Proof Living site in my research. I read her book, and subscribed to the site b/c her strategy is structured, and it has worked well for me. The three principals are simple, Live below your means, save money for emergencies and give to charity. The Freedom Account concept is based on keeping yourself out of debt - instead of thinking you have all this extra money (or not) after the monthly bills are paid, she says to write down all the other expenses you have incurred over the past year - known and unknown, like car insurance and unexpected car repairs, gifts, etc. You then create a category for each, add up or estimate how much will be spent on each in a year, and divide by 12. that amount should go in each category each month. That way you are creating a monthly expense for each 'nonmonthly' expense. She suggests keeping this in a separate checking acct (the whole amt together), and tracking each category on a page in a notebook. Most people I know either keep most of the money in an online acct (ING, for ex.) and either link that to their reg. checking acct, or to a separate checking acct and transfer money as needed. Many people add goals to their FA's - to help them save for things. It depends on how you want to use it, and what your needs are. A lot of people I know who use it say it was one of the keys to helping them finally balance their finances.