Well, duh.

Welcome back, intrepid reader. Hopefully, this post will have you nodding and saying, "Yeah, and?" This is basic, basic stuff that has to be covered so the other stuff makes sense. Think of it not so much as an attempt to bore you to death, but rather an attempt to make sure we have some consensus in our understanding.

So let's get going. To have abundance in your life, you will need an income. This income needs to be enough to pay for the absolute necessities and still have some left over. When I say absolute necessities, I mean food, shelter, clothing, utilities and personal hygiene stuff.

Hopefully, you have this income. If not, get out there and get one. (And don't worry too much, you can still take advantage of some of the things I'll discuss here.)

Once you have your income, you'll need a budget. Keep track of your money. It likes that. Stick to your budget once you make it. The biggest problem I, personally, tend to have is the tendency to spend little bits of money here or there on things I could very well do without. It's just a dollar, I'll tell myself, and then wonder where my money went when I add everything up later on. Again, stick to your budget.

What do you do with what's left over? Practically speaking, that's going to depend on who you are and what's important to you. Generally speaking, you should do as follows. Divide it into thirds.

Save one third. Don't touch it, period. This is strictly emergency, angry-mob-with-pitchforks, end-of-the-world money. It's raison d'etre is for you to save it and not touch it.

Donate one third. Pick a charity, a religious organization, a random bum on the street, whomever or whatever you want, so long as they need the money and it will make you feel good to give them that money. You kill three birds with one stone this way: you get to feel good, you get to do good, and money you give away tends to come back to you in unexpected ways.

Finally, take the last third of the last of your money and blow it. Pamper yourself somehow. If it's not enough to get what you want, save it until it is. Frail creatures that we are, we need positive reinforcement. We need tangible reminders that the world is a banquet and we have a reservation.

That about does it for today. Next time, we'll cover some of the philosophical and spiritual underpinnings of the idea of creating abundance. We'll even get into some practical techniques to begin improving your life.