It sounds simplistic, but many people struggle with this first basic rule. Make sure you know what your job is worth in the marketplace by conducting an evaluation of your skills, productivity, job tasks, contribution to the company, and the going rate, both inside and outside the company, for what you do. Being underpaid even $1,000 a year can have a significant cumulative effect over the course of your working life.

No matter how much or how little you're paid, you'll never get ahead if you spend more than you earn. Often it's easier to spend less than it is to earn more, and a little cost-cutting effort in a number of areas can result in big savings. It doesn't always have to involve making big sacrifices.

Budgeting.
It's not a four-letter word. If you are already using Microsoft Money, Quicken or another money-management software, it should be relatively painless to put together a spending plan. But a piece of paper, a pencil and last month's bills can get you through 80% of the planning process. If you don't know where your money goes, you won't be able to develop a strategy to spend less than you make. Be as detailed as possible: A line item that says $500 to Visa doesn't help you plan if you don't know whether $490 of that money went to shoes or sushi!

Credit card debt is the biggest obstacle to getting ahead financially. Those little pieces of plastic are so easy to use, and it's so easy to forget that it's real money we're dealing with when we whip them out to pay for a purchase, large or small. Despite our good resolves to pay the balance off quickly, the reality is that we often don't, and end up paying far more for things than we would have paid if we had used cash. Limit or eliminate the amount that you add to your credit cards while you are working to pay them off.

When you make a payment, pay more than the minimum each month. The increased payment will save you hundreds, and perhaps thousands in interest payments. You can also transfer your balance to a low-interest credit card so that more of your monthly payment goes toward paying down your balance rather than paying interest.

Having a good credit history is an important part of maintaining a healthy financial life. A credit report is used as an indicator of your credit worthiness. It lets a lender, landlord or employer know if you demonstrate financial responsibility and maturity. It is a good idea to frequently review your credit report to make sure you are in good standing with your current lenders.

In addition to helping you work toward the best credit history possible, monitoring and reviewing your credit report also helps to fight identity theft because you will be able to catch fraudulent activity early.

To request your free credit report, go to www.annualcreditreport.com. You are able to receive a credit report once every 12 months from each of the three major agencies: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Once you have requested your report, you are able to view it immediately.

You should review the reports from each of the agencies because they won't all have the same information about you. That's because your creditors decide which credit bureau they will report your payment history to - they don't have to report to each one. However, if you correct a mistake on one bureau's report the correction will be provided to the other two bureaus.

If your employer has a retirement plan and you don't contribute to it, you're walking away from one of the best deals out there. Ask your employer if they have a 401(k) plan (or similar plan) and sign up today. If you're already contributing, try to increase your contribution. If your employer doesn't offer a retirement plan, consider an Individual Retirement Account (IRA).

You've heard it before: Pay yourself first! If you wait until you've met all your other financial obligations before seeing what's left for saving, chances are you'll never have a healthy savings account or investments. Resolve to set aside a minimum of 5% to 10% of your salary for savings BEFORE you start paying your bills. Better yet, have money automatically deducted from your paycheck and deposited into a separate account.

Employment benefits like a 401(k) plan, flexible spending accounts, medical and dental insurance, etc., are worth big bucks. Make sure you're maximizing yours and taking advantage of the ones that can save you money by reducing taxes or out-of-pocket expenses.

Too many people are talked into paying too much for life and disability insurance, whether it's by adding these coverages to car loans, buying whole-life insurance policies when term life makes more sense, or buying life insurance when you have no dependents. On the other hand, it's important that you have enough insurance to protect your dependents and your income in the case of death or disability.

If you don't keep good records, you're probably not claiming all your allowable income tax deductions and credits. Set up a system now and use it all year. It's much easier than scrambling to find everything at tax time, only to miss items that might have saved you money.

You should also maintain a list of accounts, insurance policies, safe deposit boxes, etc., and keep it where a family member and/or trusted friend can find it.

So many people get caught up in the details of their everyday lives they forget what they're working to achieve. Figure out what you want to accomplish in life and the strategies to achieve those goals become apparent. Commit your goals to writing and they become tangible. Work toward achieving those goals and they become possible. It can all start with making a list.

How are you doing on the top 10 list? If you're not doing at least six of the 10, resolve to make improvements. Choose one area at a time and set a goal for incorporating all 10 into your lifestyle.