By Amber Marquez-Moore

We all know that saving for significant life events is important, but to get there we need to do a few things along the way. Taking control of your spending and managing your debt today can help pave the way to achieving your long-term financial goals, whether those goals are paying off your credit cards, saving for a special trip or financing your child’s college tuition.

Having your finances in order, understanding your credit report and maintaining a good credit score are key ingredients to financial success. You can achieve that success with just a few easy tips and tricks included below.

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Learn to budget – Everyone has certain fixed income and expenses each month. However, it is important to set aside money to save for big purchases, like the down payment on a house, emergencies like unexpected medical bills, and of course retirement. Anything left after that becomes your disposable income. Planning your lifestyle so that you spend no more than that amount every month is one of the keys to financial success.

"It's hard to live within your means if you don't know what your means are," says Maxine Sweet, vice president of public education for Experian, a global information solutions company. Take some time to sit down with your computer and analyze your accounts and spending with a software program. With Microsoft Money Plus, for example, you can automatically download all of your financial information from different accounts into one place. You can even view historical information for those accounts to help you better understand your past spending trends. Money also lets you track your spending in categories that you want to watch closely, such as dining out, entertainment or shopping. This will help you allocate your money in an easy and effective way.

Understand your credit score – There are many simple ways to free yourself from debt, but the first step should be to retain a copy of your credit report so you can truly grasp where you stand. With Money Plus you get a free copy of your credit report and one year's worth of monitoring from Experian®. Experian can give you quick and easy access to your report and credit score to learn what positive and negative factors can affect credit, and Money can help you understand what your credit score means and how lenders evaluate it.

Pay your bills on time – As online banking becomes more prominent due to its convenience, people are using it to ensure bills are paid on time and in a quick and easy fashion. In fact, in the U.S. today, 25 percent1 of all households utilize some form of online banking and by 2010, more than 50 million U.S. households will be banking and paying bills by clicking a mouse instead of licking a stamp.

No matter what online bill payment service you use, whether it’s your bank’s service or a merchant’s service, Microsoft Money Plus can help you stay one step ahead of your monthly bills and pay them with ease from one central location. Save time by paying bills from multiple accounts and setting up reminders when your bills are due to make it easier to pay your bills on time.

Pay down your debt – If you purchase a $10,000 bedroom set on your credit card with an interest rate of 13 percent, that debt will cost you a whopping $18,000 if you pay it off by making only the minimum payment every month. Within Money's Credit Center you can use the Mini Debt Reduction Finder and the Debt Reduction Planner to determine how much you will pay on your debt, based upon what you owe and how to reduce that debt in the most efficient way possible. Think of the interest you will pay as stealing from yourself, and keep those figures in mind next time you're tempted to charge something you don't really need.

Think of your future – By starting early, making the right investments and with ample planning you can enjoy your retirement more than you could imagine. Next time you get a raise try putting that extra money into your 401K or other investments and living on your prior income. You will be surprised at how big of a difference small sacrifices will make when you want to retire early. Microsoft Money Plus includes tools that can help you to forecast your retirement as well as track your investments. By using the Retirement Planner it becomes easy to track your retirement and what your disposable finances will be at the time you choose to retire. By using Money's Portfolio Manager it is easy watch your investments and set alerts on stocks so that you always know where your investments stand. With tools such as these, and with advice from MSN Money financial experts, it makes it easy to put yourself on a path to future financial serenity.