You’ve taken a look at your credit file. You’ve reviewed your credit card history for the previous year. You’ve decided it’s time to make some changes, specifically to your budget. Maybe you don’t even have a budget currently, and you’ll be creating one from scratch, but either way you want to get your credit card spending under better control. Where do you even begin?

Here are some of the most important things you’ll need to consider when creating a simple budget you can live with in the New Year:

1. Figure out how much you can expect to earn.

Remember to account for all expected earnings — not only your job but also things like interest and dividends paid on investments.

2. Calculate your basic living expenses.

Outline all of your expenses that must be paid each month — your rent or mortgage, car payments, utilities, groceries, petrol, insurance premiums, tuition, other loan payments, credit card minimum payments, etc. Some of these expenses, like groceries, will be variable expenses. In that case you might not know exactly how much they’ll cost, but you can at least set a budget for the maximum you’re willing to spend. If prices go up or you want to throw a big dinner party, that might mean scaling back at other times of the month.

3. List other non-essential expenses.

Some expenses aren’t necessary — going to the cinema for example. Yet you’ll want to spend money on movies, new outfits, travel, and other things throughout the year. Determine which of those are most important to you and factor them into your monthly budget.

4. Consider savings and investments.

In addition to expenses, you might want to put additional money aside for other reasons such as a savings account, investing in stocks, or starting an emergency fund. These also have to work within your total earnings after expenses. You might want to cut down on non-essential expenses to allow for more investing.

5. Look at current debt.

How much current debt do you have? How quickly would you like to pay it down? How much would you have to pay every month to meet that goal? If you can make it work based on what you’re earning now, work it into your budget — make the commitment by treating additional credit card and loan payments as an essential expense.

The more you’re able to break down your budget into individual expenditures, the easier it will be to see where your money is really going, and therefore the easier it will be to control your spending in the future. Let the New Year equal a new start for your financial future by creating a simple budget you can live with today.