People pin the latest economic woes on many different things. Some blame the banks, who have always been more interested in pleasing shareholders than clients. Some blame the government, although most stop at the most visible person in power rather than look back a few years for the actual causes. Some blame the wealthy; they claim that riverside bankruptcy lawyers and others stood to make the most from this catastrophe, and shaped things to be the way they currently are.

The truth, however, is that if there is any one group to really lay blame on for this awful recession, it is the individual. That's right. If you are reading this and have ever maxed out your credit card or bought an instantaneous water heater or luxury car you could not afford, you are at the bottom of the current fiscal crisis. Terrible individual spending habits were the shaky foundation on which the last boom economy was based.

The real tragedy is that we could have avoided the entire situation altogether, with some basic money management skills. It wasn't until just before Wall Street really crashed that some began to take notice of the damage individual spending was doing to our society. Television shows started to pop up exploring debt and how to control spending, encouraging people to get money for jewelry they didn't need in order to pay down their debts.

Amazingly, although the effects of poor money management can be seen all around us, many people continue to spend themselves deeper into the hole every single day. No amount of SR&ED can really solve this problem, it is up to the person spending to change their habits.

Fortunately, it is not a hard thing to do. The first thing every individual has to do is make a realistic personal budget. How much money do you actually make every month? That's easy to determine, you just have to look at your paycheck. Next, figure out how much you spend every month. Remember to include not only obvious things such as gas and rent, but hidden costs like monthly interest on your credit card.

If your expenditures are more than what you make, it is definitely time for a change. What's more, you need to cut back enough so that you can save about ten percent each month. Having some savings in place will help keep you afloat if an Ontario lawyer ever comes knocking at your door.