Money to Burn.

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Author: Kamenetz, AnyaZimmerman, Mike

How much cash do you have in your wallet right now?

A. Could be $100, could be $3. I don't really know.

B. $200 or more in crisp new 20s and 50s.

C. One emergency 20, folded up and stuck in the credit-card slot.

If you answered A, you're a Sleepwalker. You spend on impulse for big and small stuff alike, never thinking about your budget. At the end of the month, you wonder where it all went. Everyone has a little bit of Sleepwalker in them--that's why crafty marketing experts put candy bars and Us Weekly at the checkout counter. But a bad case of Sleepwalker can mean overdue bills and falling short of long-term financial goals without even realizing it.

If you answered B, you're a Status Spender. You may be in a commission-based profession like real estate, sales, or finance. Regardless, you're living large and want friends, colleagues, and ladies to know it--new cars, expensive dinners, the latest tech. The danger, of course, comes when your lifestyle inevitably outruns your paycheck.

If you answered C, you're a Scrimper, with a tight lock on your finances. You probably think you don't need our advice, but scrimping has two major downsides. First, you could be denying yourself the pleasures of a job well done, which sets you up for occasional binge spending. Second, you may not be able to part with a large chunk of change, even when it's a wise investment.

Okay, now that you know yourself, here's what to do.

Seventy percent of you have a savings account, but less than half of you use it. This wouldn't be a criminal offense, except that almost 30 percent of you regularly pay overdraft or late fees, because you don't have enough money in your account to pay your bills on time, every time. The solution: Open a checking account just for household expenses with whatever's required to avoid monthly service fees (around $2,000, typically). Next, figure out roughly how much your monthly expenses--everything from electricity to entertainment--should run, and direct-deposit that much into the account from your paycheck. Put the rest of your paycheck into your savings account and let it accumulate until you need it (see #9, below). Not only have you just taken the guesswork out of saving, but you've also created a budget without the hassle of doing a monthly line-by-line accounting of what you've spent. If you have $2,100 left in your checking account at the end of a month, spend the extra $100 the next. If you have $1,900 left, cut back on expenses the following month.

Sleepwalkers Pay your bills online--it's quicker, and you can set up automatic payments for all recurring expenses. "Often, [Sleepwalkers] aren't late because they don't have the money" says Judy Lawrence, a financial counselor in Cupertino, California, and the author of The Budget Kit. "They just don't make the time."

Status Spenders Forget online banking and take the time to balance your checkbook the old-fashioned way. It'll make you more aware of what you're spending each month.

Scrimpers You're going to be tempted to start building a balance in your checking account. Resist. "You've set your budget, and you know how much is okay to spend," says Lawrence. So spend it.

Thirty percent of you say you make most everyday purchases with cash, while 50 percent of you use a debit card. Some financial experts favor cash, others prefer plastic, but all agree that visiting the ATM more than once a week is a red flag. This takes some planning and discipline. "If I have $40 in my wallet," says Mike Furois, a certified financial planner in Phoenix, "it's easy to spend $35 in 2 days and hang on to the other $5 for a week."

Sleepwalkers Limiting ATM visits is especially important for you. Take out the same amount each week--preferably no more than $100--and force yourself to make it last.

Status Spenders Don't carry more than $200 at a time. "Some of my clients never have less than $500 in their wallets" Furois says. "I try to get them to cut back gradually, so they don't blow hundreds of dollars at once."

Scrimpers Split your weekly withdrawal into envelopes marked "groceries," "gas," and so on. If you have any left over come Saturday, go out for a guilt-free dinner or movie.

Two-thirds of you have a 401(k), 403(b), or IRA account, but only 20 percent of you are putting 10 percent or more of your paycheck toward retirement. More disturbing, 21 percent of you aren't saving for retirement at all. "Our younger clients not only are not maxing out their 401(k)s," says Scott Kahan, a certified financial planner in New York City, "but they're not taking advantage of their employers' matching funds--that's free money." The tax benefits amount to free money as well: Every $1,000 you contribute saves $300 in taxes. Our experts agree: Don't put less than 10 percent of your salary into your retirement plan each month. Because of the tax benefits, your take-home pay will drop by only 7 percent. That seems like a lot, but trust us, you'll never miss it. And in 10 years, you'll be giddy every time your 401(k) statement arrives. Oh, if you're under 30, put all your money in stocks. At 30, start drizzling in cash, bonds, and other safe investments.

Sleepwalkers You can't be trusted to make your own retirement contributions, so set up automatic payments.

Status Spenders Don't you dare buy that boat until you've maxed your contributions to your 401(k) and Roth IRA. Don't have a Roth? Put down this magazine and open one now.

Scrimpers If rolling the dice with stocks has you hyperventilating, go with a balanced fund--a preset mix of stocks, bonds, and cash. It won't appreciate as fast, but you'll be able to sleep at night.

The electronics store is the place guys are most likely to spend more than they intend, according to 59 percent of you. In fact, almost half of you say that if your TV broke next week, you'd instantly replace it with a $1,500 or even $5,000 flat-screen or plasma version. That's a lot of money to spend hastily. Hence, our 3-month moratorium.

Sleepwalkers Don't even walk into Best Buy until you've decided what you want and it's time to make your purchase. Lawrence knows your type. "One of my clients, a guy in his 20s, goes into the electronics store to comparison shop. But once he's there, he can't help himself and spends far more than he can afford."

Status Spenders Use the time to do background research, compare features, and, most important, save enough to pay in cash. If your friends ask about the delay, tell them you're just waiting for the next iProduct.

Scrimpers Save a little extra so you can purchase a better-quality product--it'll last longer and work better than that cheap knockoff you've been eyeing.

Just over half of you confess to carrying a credit-card balance, and one in five owes more than a month's salary and makes the minimum payments. Credit-card debt, we don't need to tell you, is financial suicide. "If you add just $10 to your minimum payment," says Lawrence, "you'll save thousands in the long run." Example: Say you owe $5,000 at 21 percent interest. Paying $110 a month, it'll take almost 10 years to satisfy the debt. Pay $110 a month, though, and you'll finish 2 1/2 years earlier.

Sleepwalkers Seven percent of our survey respondents have no idea how much credit-card debt they have. That's quintessential Sleepwalker. Most credit cards let you set up automatic monthly payments. Do so.

Status Spenders If your income depends heavily on commissions or bonuses, you're most at risk of outsized (five-figure) credit-card debt that accumulates quietly when money flow is low. Avoid it by putting only purchases of more than $1,000 on your credit card. Since we told you not to withdraw more than $200 at a time, other purchases will require a special trip to the ATM, giving you time to reconsider.

Scrimpers Credit-card debt drives you crazy--so crazy, in fact, that you often contemplate cutting up your cards. Don't. You need them for emergencies and to maintain a good credit rating. Just go with your strength: Systematically chip away at your debt and it'll be gone in no time.

Walk into a restaurant or bar, and your cash does an impressive disappearing act: 28 percent of you admit that your wallet comes out most freely when you're among friends, 85 percent say you splurge "often" for dinner, and 60 percent tell us you regularly purchase premium beer. "Men, especially single men, feel pressure when they're going out with friends or coworkers: 'I'll pick up the tab, don't worry about it.' It's an ego thing," says Kahan. Go ahead, pick up a round--but wait until later in the night, when your buds aren't so thirsty for suds.

Sleepwalkers Leave your credit cards at home, lest you be tempted to put the whole night on your Visa.

Status Spenders Develop a taste for quality scotch--one glass is perfect for sipping and far cheaper than three premium beers. Plus, you'll look sophisticated.

Scrimpers Steer the gathering to "a great dive bar near the office" As long as the place is sufficiently grungy, no one will suspect your real motivation: to hold down costs.

Ah, romance. You can't put a price on it, but it costs you dearly. Seventy-seven percent of you say you almost always pay, with half of you typically dropping $150 or more on a big date. Seven percent say it's not unusual to spend $500 if you're really into her. We're not suggesting you become miserly, just that you mix it up. A run in the park can end happily, too.

Sleepwalkers Set up a regular, low-cost date with your girl: coffee and the paper at her place on Sundays, perhaps.

Status Spenders Swear off gifts and expensive dates ($200 or more) for the first 3 months of any new relationship, or at least until you know you're serious about her, recommends Dean Harman, a certified financial planner in The Woodlands, Texas.

Scrimpers Both working late? Take her out for dessert (not dinner) at a nice restaurant afterward. She'll think it's neat, not cheap.

The most expensive items in your closet should be the most durable, says Harman. Many of you have this principle down: 35 percent say you're more likely to splurge on shoes than on shirts or suits. In fact, nearly half of you say your nicest dress shirt cost only 340.

Sleepwalkers Reorganize your closet. If you know exactly what you have--what still fits, what still looks new--you'll be less likely to buy on impulse.

Status Spenders Fine, buy premium brands, but only when they're on sale. Even Neiman Marcus has outlet stores.

Scrimpers When it comes to clothes, spend 20 percent more per item than you plan to. You'll get better quality, and you'll stand a little taller.

What are you saving for? A house? A car? A dream vacation? Early retirement? "Figure out how you want to reward yourself in the future," says Kahan. "Then work backward. How will you get there?"

Sleepwalkers Pick a 5-year goal--far enough out to force you to think beyond the short term, but not so far that you'll forget about it by next month. Next, create annual yardsticks with which to measure success. To strengthen your resolve make a small investment this year. Saving for a motorcycle? Buy a helmet and take lessons.

Status Spenders Set a 20-year goal. Why? "One year you might make $150,000," says Furois, "and you think you'll always have that kind of money." Setting a long-term goal, one that you can achieve whether you make 375,000 or $50,000, will keep you focused on building wealth.

Scrimpers Reward your discipline. Even if you already have a long-term goal, give back to yourself each year--if not a vacation, then something useful, like a new lawn mower. Or, even better, a lawn-mowing service. Irresponsible? Maybe, but you deserve it.

For five financial questions to ask yourself when you're starting a new job, go to MensHealth.com/milestones.

Saving for retirement can seem like a financial Hail Mary, but it's actually more of a screen pass: a low-risk call that, executed properly, always leads to big gains. In diagramming the play for you, we've made several assumptions--that you'll retire at 62 (the average age is 62.6), that inflation will stay at the historical average of 3 percent, that your retirement fund will be your primary means of support (Social Security, should it still exist, would be icing on the cake), and that you won't be tapping it early to, say, pay for college. The table represents how much cash you'll need at age 62 for an income of $30,000, $40,000, or $50,000 a year, in today's dollars, until age 92.

Now, figure out if you're on track. Plot yourself on the graph below, which represents how much money you should have already saved, based on your age, for an annual postretirement income of $30,000--whether the nest egg is in a 401(k), Roth IRA, or other investments. Here again, we made assumptions: that you started saving for retirement at age 25, that you're saving around $5,000 a year. that you'll invest more conservatively as you get older. Based on historical stock, bond, and cash returns, for example, we figure a 25-year-old should see an 8.8 percent annual return between now and age 62. But a 45-year-old would see only 7.2 percent growth during that time.

Legend for Chart:

B - $30,000
C - $40,000
D - 50,000

     A             B           C           D

If you're 25   1,355,200   1,806,900   2,258,700
If you're 30   1,203,900   1,605,300   2,006,600
If you're 35   1,048,900   1,398,500   1,748,200
if you're 40     951,900   1,269,200   1,586,400
If you're 45     884,000   1,178,700   1,473,400
If you're 50     779,300   1,039,100   1,298,900