What is a household budget?

Millions of Americans are always trying to save a bit of money these days, and one of the best ways to do it is by creating and sticking to a household budget.

It's not always easy to do that, but the concept behind it is. All you have to do is go through all the money you spend every month and add it up. You might find you're spending more than you thought on certain things, like eating at restaurants or buying tickets to sporting events. Once you have that information, you can start to think about ways to trim those costs.

Even little savings here and there - one fewer night out per month, for instance - can end up saving hundreds of dollars per year. Then you can devote that money to more important things, like getting out of debt or building a savings account for a rainy day.