Last week, we started looking at how much money you owe and how much you spend. That’s only part of the picture though.

It’s great to get a handle on what money you have going out, but in order to get your financial situation under control you also have to have a clear idea of what you earn.

I already had you look at what you have. I hope you’ve done that–checked your bank account, your wallet and all the change you have laying around the house. Now you need to get a clear idea of what you have coming in each month.

Consider all of the income you have. This can include a salary, any forms of self-employment you have and any interest you make on accounts and investments. Do you get yearly bonuses? Do you receive child support or alimony? How about public assistance, retirement, pension, or social security?

When you record the amount that you make from each source of income make sure that you record the amount received after taxes–net. Once you have these amounts, use them to determine your total monthly net income.

So now you should know how much you owe, how much you have, and how much you earn. At the end of the month, once you’ve kept a clear record of what you spend, we’ll combine that with monthly bills to get a total of how much you pay out every month.

Photo by Mathieu B.

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