10 Commandments of Personal Finance

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For some people, getting personal finances in order is more grueling than wandering the desert for 40 years.

But it doesn't take a miracle. If you are looking for some basic guidelines, just follow these 10 commandments:

10. Thou Shalt Take Action

Reading about how to improve your personal finances is a start, but it has absolutely no meaning if you don't take the action of putting what you learn into motion. Before you can get anywhere with your personal finances, you need to begin -- right now. If you are reading this article, you know that you should be taking steps to get your personal finances in order.

Print out this list and place it where you will see it every day, so that you are reminded that personal finance is a priority in your life and that you will take some action each and every day to try to improve your lot. If you aren't sure where to begin, start with getting your banking accounts in order.

9. Thou Shalt Pay Off All Credit Card Debt

Credit card debt is, in most cases, the No. 1 enemy to your personal finances. It can have a huge negative effect if your credit card bills are not paid off in full every single month.

Sit down and work out a plan to pay off any credit card debt that you currently have, using the snowball method that best fits your personality. Make this a top priority.

8. Thou Shalt Understand the Difference Between Wants and Needs

To keep your personal finances in perspective, you need to understand the difference between wants and needs. There is nothing inherently wrong with small luxuries, and you should be able to enjoy many of the nonessential things you have. But it is important to realize that wants are not needs. If you master this skill, your finances will be in much better shape.

Take some time to critically look at your true needs vs. your wants. If you are having trouble distinguishing these, set up a plan to eliminate impulse spending.

7. Thou Shalt Live on Less Than You Earn

There are no two ways around this one. If you want to keep your personal finances in order, you need to live on less money than you make. That means either purchasing items and services that are less than you currently make, or figuring out a way to increase your salary so that you can spend more, but still less than you make. Either of these is perfectly fine.

Track your spending to see if it is more or less than you are earning each month, and create a budget so that you can continue to track it in the future. If you are spending more than you make, you need to decide whether to curb unnecessary costs or figure out how to increase your income. Most people can balance their budget without changing their current lifestyle.

6. Thou Shalt Pay Yourself First

Before you pay any of your other bills, you should pay yourself a minimum of 10% of your take-home pay. This money is not part of your monthly spending budget.

Go to your bank and set it up so that your paycheck is automatically deposited, if possible. Then set it up so that an automatic payment is immediately taken from your paycheck into a specified account that is not used for your monthly expenses.