Lifehack.org guest contributor and Zen Habits editor, Leo Babauta, gives some very practical advice about how to get your finances under control and gain some financial peace of mind. The following are my favorite take-aways from the list:

Make your payments automatic.
I’ve covered this before … it’s an great alternative to the above method. Instead of paying bills as they come in, you can set up automatic payments and automatic savings payments online, so that as soon as your paycheck comes in, your bills get send out and a certain amount is transferred to savings (or investments). Either method works great.

Review your finances at least weekly.
To get a sense of control over your finances, you have to monitor them. Be sure you’re balancing your checkbook at least once a week, to ensure that you don’t have bounced checks or debit transactions. Even if your bills are automatic, you’ll still want to make sure they’re going out. Take the 10-20 minutes every week that’s necessary to look at your budget, your expenses, your income, and make sure you’ve got everything under control. If you’ve got a partner, do this together.

Financial Zen: How to Get Financial Peace of Mind – [ZenHabits]