You have to be a good planner to manage your money successfully. In fact, good planning is one of the tricks to being successful in just about everything that you do. If you were going to do an experiment in science class, your teacher would have to make a plan to know what materials your class had and what materials were still needed. Without a plan, there's a good chance the experiment will not work.

People who are careful about managing their money usually make a plan, called a budget, to keep track of the amount they make, save and spend. You write down what money you have coming in (like money from chores, allowances or even gifts) and what money you have going out (to a savings account, to buy things or maybe to donate).

Here is an example of a simple budget you can use to keep track of your money.

Week	Make	Save	Spend	Share
1	$4.00	$2.50	$1.00	$0.50
2	$15.00	$8.00	$4.00	$3.00
3	$7.50	$3.00	$3.00	$1.50
4	$10.00	$5.00	$3.00	$2.00
(Totals)	$36.50	$18.50	$11.00	$7.00

Each week and each month, what you make always has to equal the combined total of what you save, spend and share. This is called being in balance. You have to make sure that the money coming in equals the money going out. (The total amount of money in your checking account is also called a balance.)

Another easy way to learn budgeting is to separate your money into three containers for spending, saving and sharing. Every time you get money, you can make sure you put a little in each container. If you're saving up to buy a new video game or maybe something bigger, like a bike, you can put more of your money in the savings container to reach your goals faster.

And instead of putting your saved money in a container, you can put it in a savings account to grow even faster by earning interest. Ask a parent about helping you open up a savings account like VCBee Savings.