How can I keep from blowing all of my tips?

So you've improved your game and you are making more money. How come at the end of the month you are still having to pick up shifts to make rent? I don't know about you but after waiting on people all day it was very easy for me to go and have someone wait on me. I had cash in my pocket and wasn't afraid to use it.

The problem is during the night I usually had no idea of what I spent, only what I had left.

The key here is to set aside something for monthly bills before you go out. There are a couple of ways to do this.

If you have any self-control at all just figure out about how much your housing expenses will be and divide it up by the days you are working and put that much plus 10 percent of your tips in an envelope and set it aside. The next morning you can consolidate it somewhere or bank it.

If your self control is lacking, get a checking account and a ton of deposit slips and instead of putting it in an envelope where you can grab it when you want another beer or two, drop it in the night deposit box.

At the end of the month you should be able to cover rent without totally freaking out and...You should have some extra in the account. If you want you can splurge with the extra (more likely you can use it to get your car fixed or for other emergencies) or better yet, drop it into a savings account for when an emergency hits. At a certain level you will have a ton of cash and can use it to improve your life.