Problem: Article: Drizzle a tablespoon of oil in a large skillet (about 10 to 14 inches) over medium heat before cooking the base of your breakfast skillet. If you're serving more than a few people, it's important to pick a base that is filling and will easily feed several people. You can cook diced or cubed potatoes as the base of your skillet. Whatever you choose, ensure the food is cooked until it's tender before you add your other ingredients. Good breakfast skillet bases include:  Cooked and drained pasta Cooked and cooled rice Diced and roasted sweet potatoes Hash browns Diced yam or butternut squash Once your base has cooked until it is soft, add at least one or two different cubed vegetables. You may need to drizzle a little olive oil in the pan and stir it frequently to keep the food from sticking. Use at least one of these vegetables in your breakfast skillet:  Broccoli Cauliflower Mushrooms Kale or spinach Onions Bell peppers As the breakfast skillet cooks, sprinkle seasoning and herbs to add flavor. You can start with just 1/4 of a teaspoon of the spices and herbs you want to use. Taste the food and adjust the flavor by adding more seasonings to your taste. These seasonings work well in breakfast skillets:  Thyme Rosemary Garlic Oregano Chili powder Shallots Ground cumin Many breakfast skillets contain meat. You can use any type of sausage, cooked and shredded chicken, bacon, or smoked salmon. If you'd like to stick to a vegetarian breakfast skillet, just use eggs or tofu. To add eggs, you can just make wells in the veggies and crack the eggs into each well. You could also drop the eggs into the skillet and stir them frequently while the skillet cooks. This will scramble the eggs. If you'd like to top the breakfast skillet with fried eggs, try frying the eggs in a separate pan. This way, you can cook them exactly how you like them and simply place them on top of your cooked breakfast skillet. Depending on how you decided to cook your eggs, you may need to continue cooking the skillet. If you'd like your eggs cracked onto the top and cooked till just set, consider covering the skillet with a lid and cooking the skillet over medium-low heat until the whites set. This could take 5 to 10 minutes. If you'd like to use more than 4 eggs or would like them cooked more thoroughly, bake the breakfast skillet in an oven heated to 400 degrees F (204 C) for 10 minutes.  If baking in the oven, ensure your pan is oven-safe. If you chose to scramble the eggs into the cooked vegetables and base, you won't need to continue cooking the breakfast skillet any further.
Summary: Choose your base. Add vegetables. Add your seasonings. Add eggs and protein. Finish cooking the skillet. Finished.

Problem: Article: Collect past bills, bank and credit card statements, and receipts that can allow you to put together an accurate estimate of how much money you spend every month. Personal finance software is quickly becoming the new trend in finance. These programs have built-in budget making tools that can help customize your budget, along with analytics that help you project cash-flow into the future and better understand your spending habits.  Some popular personal finance software include:  Mint Quicken AceMoney BudgetPulse If you choose not to use a budgeting software, you can determine your own budget by using a simple spreadsheet. Your goal is to chart all your expenses and income during the course of a year, so make a spreadsheet that shows all your information clearly, allowing you to quickly identify any areas where you can spend smarter.  Label the row of cells across the top (starting with cell B1) with the 12 months of the year. Create a column of expenses and revenues in column A.  You can list either revenues or expenses first, but try to group expenses together and revenues together to avoid confusion. You may want to group expense together with category headings.  For example, you might have a category of “utilities” that includes your electric, gas, water, and telephone bills. Decide whether you want to include items that are deducted directly from your paycheck such as insurance, retirement savings, or taxes.  If you do not include them on your spreadsheet, be sure that you list your net (post-deduction) income rather than your gross (total, pre-deduction) income under the “revenue” section. Add all of your expenses and revenues for the past 12 months, using data from your bank and credit card statements to provide an accurate representation of all of your revenues and expenses. Are you on a fixed salary where you know for certain how much you're taking home each week? Are you a freelancer whose salary varies each month? Documenting a year's history can help you get an accurate view of your average monthly revenue.    If you are an independent contractor or freelancer, keep in mind what you bring home is not the same thing as what you earn. For example, you may bring home $2,500 every month, but that's pre-tax. Figure out how much you're likely to need to pay in taxes and subtract that from your monthly income to arrive at a more accurate number. If you are a salaried employee, don't factor in a possible tax refund into your overall income. Your monthly income should reflect only what you bring home after taxes. If you do get a tax refund, you'll get to do with it as you please; if you don't, you won't need to worry about it. What are the bills that you have to pay every month? How much do you spend every week on groceries and gasoline? Do you go out to dinner with friends every Friday night or to the movies once a week? How much money do you spend on shopping? Tracking a year of actual spending will help you develop an accurate view of your spending habits, since most people underestimate the amount they believe they spend every month. If your expenses are greater than your revenue, you are living way beyond your means.  Your budget should be divided into two groups:   Fixed Expenses. These include regular monthly expenses such as bills, insurance, loan debts, food, and necessary shopping items like clothing and household products.  Discretionary Expenses.  Discretionary expenses are unfixed expenses that may be “optional.” Items that fall into this category include savings, entertainment, vacation funds, and other luxuries.
Summary:
Gather what you need to start tracking your spending history. Consider using software to help you budget. Create a spreadsheet. Document your historical budget data for the last 12 months. Determine your overall monthly revenue history. List all of your monthly expenses on the spreadsheet. Analyze your revenue and expenses.