This idea couldn’t be further from the truth! Everyone, no matter their income, can create a budget, develop a plan for paying their bills on time, and strive to live within their means. Yes, for many of us, it can be hard to live within a budget and even harder to save money. But financial planning can help. It involves adding up how much money you need to spend each month for essentials (e.g., housing, food, phone, utilities), subtracting that total from your monthly income, and seeing how much is left for things like an emergency fund or retirement.