How would you like to be in command of your finances—never be in debt again, live free of financial pressure, and retire comfortably when that day arrives? 你觉得自己掌握自己的财政怎么样——不再负债，不再有经济压力，安享晚年？

This is possible for each of you, but it will require intentional effort. 这对所有人都是有可能的，但需要格外努力。

If you sincerely want to be Captain of your Financial Ship, 如果你真的想控制自己的经济，

today’s lesson will emphasize three crucial things you must do:1st, put together a budget, 2nd, track your expenses, and 3rd,commit to spending less than you earn. 本课将教给你必须做的三件重要的事：组合预算，记录花费，花钱时量力而行。

When we do not track our expenses, we actually forfeit control of our Financial Ship. 如果你对你的花费不做记录，那你就是去对自己经济的控制了。

The reason is simple: when we don’t have a clear picture of where our money is going, it’s like being on a ship with a leak that prevents us from navigating toward our financial goals. 原因很简单：如果我们连自己的钱花在哪了都不知道，我们在实现经济目标的路上就会迷失方向。

Benjamin Franklin said it better: 本杰明·富兰克林有一句话总结得更好：

He said“Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship.” “小小开支不可随意，小小漏洞会沉大船。”

No doubt, this is not the first time you’ve heard about the importance of budgeting to help keep track of expenses, but perhaps you’ve procrastinated. 毫无疑问，这肯定不是你第一次听说预算对于记录花费的重要性，但你可能迟迟未行动。

If you will just take time now to set up a budget, 如果你现在开始着手进行预算，

you will quickly discover that the benefits are worth the effort you put forth each month.  With a budget, you will now be able to: 你很快就会发现它的好处，值得你每月都花点时间在上面。有了预算，你就能够：

1st, Control how your money is spent, saved, and invested 控制花钱，存钱和投资方式 ；

You'll understand where you money is going; eliminate surprises 知道钱花在了什么地方，免得让自己大吃一惊；

You'll know what you can and cannot afford 知道自己的经济能力；

You'll practice important self-control and personal responsibility 有更强的自控力和责任感；

You'll be able to compare your spending to a previous period of time to measure progress 与上次相比，找出进步；

And lastly, you'll be able to stay out of debt 远离债务困扰。

f you wish to get out or stay out of debt, you must learn to live within your means. 如果你不想负债，那就必须把花费控制住预算范围内。

A budget that includes tracking your expenses is one of the first and easiest steps towards not spending more money than you make each month. 包含花费记录的预算是最早也最容易让你控制花费的其中一种方式。

It’s critical to understand that operating a budget is at the core of your financial progress. 你要明白很重要的一点：实行预算是提高你经济能力的核心。

It will certainly help keep you from being a part of these statistics: 这肯定有助于让你避免成为下面数据中的一个：

Did you know that 57% of households do not have a budget 57%的家庭没有预算；

61% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, up from 49% last year and 43% in 2007 61%的美国人都是月光族，这一数据与去年和2007年相比分别上升了12%和18%；

Bankruptcy filings. In 2009 there were approximately 5,900 bankruptcy filings a day. 破产申请，2009年日均大约5900项破产申请纪录；

Also, as we all know. Money is consistently ranked as one of the top three reasons for arguments among married couples 破裂的婚姻或离婚，经济状况是造成夫妻争吵的主要原因之一。

One of the concerns that many people have about budgeting is that a budget holds us accountable. 许多人担心会被预算束缚，

But if we spend more than we said we would on a particular category (like food or entertainment), 但是如果我们是因为一些特殊花费（如食物或者娱乐活动等）超出预算，

it doesn’t mean we have failed, it simply alerts us to the fact that we need to adjust our budget. 这并不意味着我们执行的失败，而只是一个提醒，告诉我们是该调整预算的时候了。