We often talk about the importance of creating a budget: Figuring out your monthly income, expenses, and what you want to set aside for retirement, emergencies and fun.

But if you don’t have a lot of money coming in, the whole exercise can feel overwhelming. Or worse, pointless. How do you budget, when you’re broke?

Kristin Wong, personal finance blogger, wrote a guide for broke budgeting on the website Lifehacker. 

First: Assess Your Financial Situation

If you have more money going out than coming in, here’s what your financial plan boils down to: spend less and/or earn more. To figure out how to do this, first take an assessment of your income and expenses. This will help you develop a reasonable and realistic budget.

Have broke budgeting tips of your own? Leave them in the comments or tweet them to @LiveMoney.