So, imagine that you are walking down the street or in a mall and you suddenly have an urge for ice cream. Stopping at a vendor's stand will cost you a couple of bucks, unless the kids are with you. A simple craving for ice cream can easily turn into a ten dollar expense. You know that you can buy a gallon of the goop for far less, but your desire is now. If necessary, you can control yourself and let the moment pass, but it is far less easy to ignore when you have a handful of hungry or tired children with you.

How often do you have to pass up the little bits of life that make each day more interesting because you just do not have the extra money to spend? How often do your kids complain that their friends get to go out for dinner once in a while, but all they get to eat is macaroni and cheese? Why do some families go to amusement parks each year while you have to stay home with a wading pool in the back yard?

The economy just does not permit everyone to enjoy everything that is available. Each of us has our own money situation that we have to consider. Every family has different goals. No two people are in exactly the same position. It is hard to equalize the playing field when some Wall Street yearly bonuses exceed what you will earn in your entire lifetime.

There are only three ways in which you can have extra spending money. You can earn more (not always possible). You can spend less (if you cut out the non-necessities). You can save on a regular basis and then use those savings to buy the extras that you want out of life. This article outlines an easy-to-use plan for having more money by utilizing the management technique of Just-in-Time (JIT) planning.

Here is an example of how you can make JIT work for you. Assume that you want to take the family to dinner and a movie. You know that the cost will be fifty dollars (remember that this is an example; any amount of money will work). We suggest that you not go to the dinner and movie until you have the fifty dollars in hand. Since your income is fixed and your spending has already been cut to the bone, how can you get the fifty dollars in hand (or in the bank) when there is no more money?

Forget all the ads you see on television promising megabucks if you only buy their program and follow their scripted advice. Those programs work about as well as the diet programs that are being hawked. Although some people will make money that way, most will not. What you need to do is to find a secondary source of dependable income, but one that you only tap when you need the money for a special occasion, such as dinner and a movie.

If you have the skills and the proper credentials (which vary from state to state), you might be able to become a substitute teacher. You do not have to work every day, but when you want some extra cash, you put your name into the pool and work for a day or two. The same can be true by having your name on file with a temp agency. You do not have to work every day, but when you need some extra cash, all you have to do is call the agency and tell them that you want to work. Even less organized situations work out. Almost every city has some form of day labor situation where workers can show up and be chosen to work on a project for that day only. Again, for a day's work, you can have money in your pocket. You could also be signed up with firms that pay you for referrals. In some situations, all you need to do is to work for about 10 or 15 minutes in one day to get the money you will need for dinner and a movie.

That is the essence of JIT money-making. You earn money Just-in-Time for when it is needed. But, and this is a big warning, that is not the entire picture. Although you can earn the money easily, you will find that you do not use it for the intended purpose. Our suggestion is that you seed a special bank account with a couple of hundred dollars of JIT-earned money. That bank account should be in the name of the JIT worker and should only be used for JIT purposes. Every time you get a paycheck (or cash) from a JIT-related activity, put it into the bank immediately. Do not hesitate for even one day. Get the money into the bank without any delay.

Once you have the money in the bank, you use that to pay for the extras, such as dinner and a movie. The important thing to remember, though, is that you must replace everything you pull from that account on a dollar for dollar basis. In practicality, this means that on a Saturday afternoon, you can decide to take the family out for pizza and a movie. The cost of the outing is fully funded by the money in your JIT account, but, since you have extracted fifty dollars from that account, you must replace it at the first possible opportunity. Come Monday morning, you have to find a JIT-related job that will put the money back into the bank. Until you replace the money, you should not withdraw anything else from the account. The reason to fund it upfront with a couple of hundred dollars is to ensure that there is always enough money in the account.

Change your mindset from one of feeling sorry for yourself because you do not have enough extra spending money to a can-do attitude and you will be amazed by the results. You can earn extra money easily. You can put it into a JIT fund to use when you want it. And, most importantly, you can start on the path to financial security. Start with the JIT program and you will find that you will start to save more than you spend. When that happens, transfer the money from your JIT account to a savings account that you will not touch. That additional account will start to become the basis for your long term savings goals.