What would you do if you were suddenly handed a little extra money? What if it were a lot of extra money? It is surprising how much that answer can change depending on the amount of money that you may be receiving. If it is just twenty dollars you may treat yourself to a movie, fifty dollars and you may go out to eat. If it were a thousand dollars, you may splurge on a vacation or put a little bit towards debt. However if you were handed thirty thousand dollars unexpectedly, you'd probably put a little more thought into what you would do with that money.

The truth is that you should carefully consider and decide what you are going to do with your money no matter how small or large the amount of money is. It is essential that you begin with a plan, or you may end up with nothing to show for your hard work or unexpected surprise. Many people who receive large windfalls of money through the lottery or inheritances, find themselves in a worse financial situation within two years of receiving the windfall. They often wonder just where their money ended up.

Similarly you can fritter away your raises, your bonuses and your salary and wonder where it all went. A budget can help you to spend and save your money wisely. Many people look at a budget as being restrictive, but it's not. You decide how much to put in each category. You decide when and how to spend it. But you've given your money a purpose, you've created yourself a plan. This is the key to winning. If you have unexpected extra money create a plan and give it a purpose. It may be that you still go out for lunch or spend a bit on that cruise that you've always wanted to take, but you thought about it and made the decision rationally. You won't wonder what happened to the money, because you made a conscious and calculated decision on what to do with it.

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