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It’s not about being cheap; it’s about being keen — smart spending and rich living. A smart woman has a legacy that looks better than their wardrobe. Of course the occasional splurge is expected and accepted when it’s just that: occasional. Uncontrolled, frivolous, “keeping up with the Joneses” spending is a habit that must be kicked before you are cozying up to d-e-b-t. The focus is always goal-setting, earning, saving and investing.

There is no magic formula and you don’t have to come from a long line of financially-savvy women to take charge of your finances. There are some guiding principles and that can be adopted to increase your financial security. Managing your money shouldn’t be frightening; with a bit of discipline and awareness it is doable! Follow these nine tips for smarter spending habits.

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Do you find yourself checking your bank account on a daily basis over and over again? Do you give a side-eye to the idea of a joint account with your current or future spouse, automatic bill payments and building credit? If this sounds like you or someone you know, you may be a money hoarder; one who excessively acquires money, but has difficulty spending it or letting go financial control.

Here are a few ways to tell if you are hoarding your own money, unable to trust your family, your bank, or even yourself with spending it, in fear of losing a little bit of control.

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Developing a budget is an essential part of your wealth-building plan. To some degree, they should be restrictive. There are sacrifices that you must make if you are serious about really managing your money and reaching your financial goals. Creating a budget allows you to see how much money you have coming in and going out and helps prevent overspending. If you find yourself halfway through a pay period but clueless about where your money has gone, it’s time to sit down and create a budget.

Dawn Brown, senior financial advisor for Altfest Personal Wealth Management, recommends these steps in preparing your budget:

Step 1: Gather All Financial Documents:

Don’t wing it. Take the time to compile your pay stubs, bank statements, investment accounts, bills, etc. This is an essential step in creating a realistic budget and will help you figure out your monthly averages.

To read more of Black Enterprise’s #WealthForLife tips, click here.

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As parents, we teach our children the necessary lessons to make it through life, from saying no to drugs to doing well in school in order to obtain a good job. Yet, there are certain topics we don’t bring up that have the ability to impact generations to come. When’s the last time you had a serious talk with your child about finances?

Truth be told, finances is an “F” word that many don’t like to talk about. Maybe it’s because we ourselves struggle with money matters or don’t think a child is capable of understanding. A recent study conducted by the Girl Scouts Research Institute found our daughters are ready to learn. Over 90 percent of survey participants (between ages of eight to 17) admit the importance of learning how to properly manage money. Yet, only 12 percent feel confident in making financial decisions.

If our children are ready to learn about finances, it’s time to educate them. Here are ten lessons we can start teaching our girls right now.

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We hosted our latest Facebook chat with the Double Saving Divas yesterday afternoon and, as always, it was enlightening.

In their latest column, all about “spring cleaning” your financial life, the Divas start with a look back to New Year’s, specifically those New Year’s resolutions. It seems like a long time has passed, but it was only three months ago that we were all looking forward to the goals we were going to achieve in 2013. Take a look back at those financial resolutions and assess how important they still are to you. It’s only April, so there’s plenty of time to get the ball rolling on those goals, or pick up where you left off if you started and stopped.

Most women may think that they’re better at saving money than men. But the infographic below will show you otherwise.

Analysis conducted by SaveUp.com shows that men actually have thousands of dollars more saved, on average, in their 401Ks, IRA accounts, and other savings plans. But it’s not as simple as being more diligent about putting money to the side. The Braintrack.com infographic illustrates some of the reasons why women can’t save more, with things like the gender pay gap and the higher cost of insurance for women playing a role. The result, according to the site, is “The $849,000 Disadvantage For Being Female.”

Some of the suggestions to equalize this savings gap are to negotiate for higher pay and put your money in places where it can gain more return. What are you doing to maximize your savings?

The Double Saving Divas

We conducted our latest Facebook chat with the Double Saving Divas on Friday and, as usual, it was filled with useful information about saving, budgeting, and money management. In case you missed it, here’s a round up of the major topics of discussion. Be sure to follow us on Facebook so you can participate in the next chat, which will be taking place in the coming weeks.

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Not everyone is prepared for the unexpected. Says Black Enterprise:

Common wisdom says to build an emergency fund during the recovery period, but the truth of the matter is that many Americans are trying to get above water or at the very least maintain their current status. So, for those who aren’t quite in a place where they can save the recommended six months to a years worth of savings, here are some common sense tips on how to start an emergency fund:

1. Think Big in Life, Think Reasonable in Savings:Make a long-term savings goal and break that up into chunks. If the goal is to have a million in the bank by the time you’re 60, do the math and figure out how much it will take to get there.

For more on how to get your emergency fund started, click through to BlackEnterprise.com.

This particular credit union seems to be fine, BTW. AP Photo/Toby Talbot

The year 2013 is relatively young yet already nearly 20 credit unions have failed, according to Bankrate.com .

Two in small ones in Southern California have just been shut down by federal regulators. Deposits will be returned to members. The credit unions were  the Pepsi Cola Federal Credit Union of Buena Park and ICE Federal Credit Union of Inglewood. They were insolvent, with no prospects for restoring viable operations, the National Credit Union Administration in news releases reports The Los Angeles Times.

And these unions have been around for decades. The Pepsi Cola Federal was chartered in 1956 and served 558 members. It had $652,000 in assets.

Meanwhile ICE Federal, which was chartered in 1939 and served Inglewood city employees and their families, had 942 members and assets of $3.4 million.

If you have your money in a credit union don’t panic. There are ways to keep your money safe. According to Bankrate.com, avoid privately insured credit unions; federally insured are safer. Keep your deposits below $250,000. Deposits are federally insured up to $250,000.

If you are using a credit union, be on the look out for warning signs that the union is in trouble. “Such institutions may pay lower deposit rates or offer poor service,” warns Bankrate. On the good side, if your union is having finical trouble you will probably find out sooner than later. Credit unions are more transparent than banks as they hold annual meetings that are open to members. They also issue annual reports and post financial statements every month.

Bankrate.com advises to have an action plan for a credit union failure. “If your credit union does go belly up, wait three months before deciding whether to switch to another institution. It can take 30 days to three months just to find a taker for a failed credit union. Once that happens, its members are notified,” writes the financial site.

To check out your credit union’s financial health, visit  the National Credit Union Administration website or Bankrate.com’s Safe & Sound.

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It’s always a good time to take a look at ways to keep your finances on track. With that in mind, Black Enterprise has some suggestions — five to be exact — that will help keep you on the positive financial path for the rest of the year. Suggestion number one: create a budget.

“Use previous receipts to create a budget that reflects your actual spending over the last several months,” the article says. “Using this approach will factor in unexpected expenses such as home repairs, health expenses and car repairs as well as the normal, predictable expenses such as utilities and groceries.”

For more tips, click through to BlackEnterprise.com.