If you got paid today and you seem to have more money than usual, don't be in a huge rush to spend it. Australian IT reports that a technical error by Westpac meant that a large batch of payroll transactions were processed twice, resulting in double the amount of money going into bank accounts. (Non-Westpac customers are also significantly affected, as the pay could potentially go into any Australian bank account specified by the recipient.)
Westpac is working to reclaim the money, so if you go out and spend it before it gets redrawn, you'll just end up with a slanging match with your bank next week. Of course, if you've got a well-organised budget system that includes moving money automatically into relevant accounts as it arrives, there'll be less to worry about.

Web-based account manager Zefty helps kids understand spending and parents manage what they owe the little ones. Manually or automatically "deposit" money into kids' accounts, and they (and you) can see what they've saved. If your tyke's tech-proficient, they get their own login to enter what they withdrew and why, but parents get a super-user account as well. There's also "Zefty Checks" kids can request money with, and an allowance calculator that determines a reasonable pay rate. Zefty is free to use, requires a sign-up.

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Keeping the mortgage paid is the most difficult financial management trick most of us have to pull off, but it's undoubtedly more stressful in some places than others. The ABC reports that an analysis of almost a million residential mortgages by Fitch found that nine of the ten worst-performing postcodes in terms of mortgage defaults in Australia were in NSW. Wetherill Park in south-western Sydney was the worst-performing suburbs, while Helensvale in Queensland was the only non-NSW entry in the top 10. Western Australia had the lowest percentage of mortgages in arrears, but that number was growing faster than anywhere else.

So is there a moral to the story? Don't get a mortgage in NSW if you can help it, apparently. And wherever you live, try and stick to a budget.

It's easy to start thinking about cash and spending as liquid, who-cares concepts while on vacation, but sticking to a budget can be as easy as sticking a piece of paper in your wallet. As guest poster Debbie Dubrow points out at the Get Rich Slowly financial blog:

Keep the cash for the day separate from the rest of your cash. For example, you get $300 out of the ATM and you want that to last you 4 days, so that's $75/day. Put $75 in an easy to access part of your wallet and you put the rest in a harder to reach spot. If you see yourself going into the hard-to-reach spot, you know you're going over budget.

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The Dumb Little Man blog has a suggestion for all of us who can't help but feel the shameful pull of the drive-thru lane when we're hungry or just pressed for meal-planning time. Every night, empty your fast food (or candy, soda, or other junk food) receipts into a jar by your bed. Then ...

Round that up to the nearest $10 and cut it in half. That's how much you'll spend a week from now on ... Take that money and put it in a ziplock bag that you keep in your car. All your fast food will be paid for out of this fund, and when it dries up, that's it until next week. This will force you to ration and make choices.

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Personal Finance blog Funny About Money tweaks the concept of a "freedom account"—a single stash for irregular-but-common expenses like car repair and clothing—and comes up with targeted accounts. That means opening up a money market or similar small account for each kind of expense, based on how often it occurs, rather than track a bunch of expenses from a big fund.

For example, I look to the irregular little surprises that can happen at any time (plumbing or car repairs, vet bills, etc.), annual expenses (car and home owner's insurance, property tax, income tax), and long-term expenses (purchase of a new car, about once every ten years; major repairs or renovations on the house, which I hope don't happen more often than about once every eight or ten years).

That way, the author states, big walloping expenses like car repair don't throw off your budget and give you a clearer view at what you're spending.

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The Simple Dollar personal finance blog delves into household budgeting—something more of us should do, but are kept away from by fear of spreadsheets, math, and undue time commitments. Blogger Trent's solution is simple and reliable, however, and takes only a willingness to collect paper and toss it in a shoe box. Collect one to three months' worth of receipts, checks, pay stubs, and other paper records of money in and out, drop them on a floor when you're done, and then arrange them however you'd like:

You'll probably find yourself shifting piles around and making new piles throughout this process, as you should. The goal is to find ways to group your spending that's natural to you. Don't try to force it to match someone else's groupings - if a group of receipts or statements feel like a natural group to you, that's how they should be sorted.

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If you want to eat well while keeping within a budget, the Simple Dollar offers a few tips for making sure you shop well and don't let any of your food purchases go to waste.
Buying in bulk, getting fresh produce from farmer's markets and cooking meals that work as leftovers are all good moves, but there are some traps to avoid too:

• Don't buy ingredients that only work for one dish - especially if they're perishable.
• Double check the value of sale items or coupons - home brand items may still be cheaper
• Make one big supermarket trip a month, supplemented by small shops at markets for fresh produce. This will force you to get creative and use what you have on hand.

The goal is to use up all the food you buy, rather than throwing out wasted food  - which translates to wasted money. Makes sense.
I'd add another tip - avoid shopping at supermarkets which like to prepackage foods into larger amounts than you really need. Coles is a big offender - it's hard to buy smaller amounts of some meats and fruit and veg because they package them up in 'family size' containers.
Got any tips for stretching your food budget further? Share in comments please.

The Lazy Man's Guide to Shopping on a Budget [The Simple Dollar]

The Simple Dollar doles out some advice for people trying to break the habit of spending all of pay cheque every month. It offers a simple plan for paring down some of your regular frivilous expenses and turning them into the start of a savings plan.

"Find things that you routinely spend money on and reduce them. Good places to look include any monthly bills strictly related to social activities (like country club membership or your cell phone bill) or entertainment (like Netflix or the cable bill). Look for things you don’t use - maybe you don’t watch the premium movie channels you’re paying for, or maybe you’re not utilizing Netflix as well as you thought you would, or perhaps you’re buying way too many text messages each month and aren’t using them. If you’re unsure about whether to cut something, cut it. You can always bring it back if you find that it was more useful than you thought."

Then, add up how much you're saving each month by getting rid of those expenses, and set up an automatic bank transfer from your primary bank account into a savings account. You've just set up a saving regime with the money you used to spend as disposable income. Nice!

Got any tips on how you got started with a savings plan? Share in comments please.

Chipping away at the paycheck to paycheck routine [The Simple Dollar]

Last week we talked about coping when you're the rich one in your social group who gets leaned on to pay - now the Simple Dollar blog has tackled the problem at the other end of the spectrum - how do you keep control of your 'social spending' when your friends have more cash than you? Here's a few of their tips:

1. Explain your goals to your friends
2. Suggest low cost or no-cost social alternatives
3. Budget for social spending such as the weekly trip  to the pub
4. Be prepared to opt out of some of the regular activities if they're beyond your budget.

And if the shoe is on the other foot?

"If, on the other hand, you’re financially well-off, be aware that your friends may not be in a similar position. Don’t suggest expensive activities. Don’t brag about money. Don’t flaunt it. Respect other people’s limits."

It's important to strike a balance between continuing to spend time with your friends, and being able to stick to your budget. How do you strike this balance? Tips in comments please.

Six Ways to Break Free of the Purge and Splurge Cycle [The Simple Dollar]