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Shri George Fernades was himself used to wash his clothes and lived a very simple life.He never ironed his clothes.He was also one of man behind pokharan test as a defense minister.He was dead honest person..His life summary and works are as under.A native of Mangalore, Fernandes was sent to Bangalore in 1946 to be trained as a priest.In 1949, he moved to Bombay, where he joined the socialist trade union movement. Becoming a trade union leader, Fernandes organised many strikes and bandhs in Bombay in the 1950s and 1960s while working with the Indian Railways.He defeated S K Patil of Indian National Congress in the 1967 parliamentary elections from the South Bombay (now south Mumbai) constituency.He organised the 1974 Railway strike, when he was President of the All India Railwaymen's Federation.Fernandes went underground during the Emergency era of 1975, while challenging Prime Minister Indira Gandhi for imposing a state of emergency,but in 1976 he was arrested and tried in the infamous Baroda dynamite case.In 1977, after the Emergency had been lifted, Fernandes won the Muzaffarpur seat in Bihar in absentia and was appointed as Union Minister for Industries. During his tenure as union minister, he ordered American multinationals IBM and Coca-Cola to leave the country, due to investment violations.He was the driving force behind the Konkan Railwayproject during his tenure as railway minister from 1989 to 1990.He was a defence minister in the National Democratic Alliance(NDA) Government (1998–2004), when the Kargil War broke out between India and Pakistan, and India conducted its nuclear tests at Pokhran.A veteran socialist, Fernandes has been dogged by various controversies, including the Barak Missile scandal and the Tehelka affair. George Fernandes won nine Lok Sabha elections from 1967 to 2004.He died on 29 January 2019 at the age of 88.[Early lifeGeorge Fernandes was born on 3 June 1930 to John Joseph Fernandes and Alice Martha Fernandes (née Pinto), in Mangaluru then Mangalore to a Mangalorean Catholicfamily.The eldest of six children, his siblings are Lawrence, Michael, Paul, Aloysius, and Richard.His mother was a great admirer of King George V (who was also born on 3 June), hence she named her first son George. His father was employed by the Peerless Finance group as an insurance executive, and headed their office of South India for several years. George was fondly called "Gerry" in close family circles.He attended his first few years of schooling at a government school near his house called "Board school", a municipal school and a church school.He studied from fifth grade at the school attached to St. Aloysius College, Mangalore, where he completed his Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC).In an interview with E TV, he described his decision to stop studies after matriculation despite his father wishing him to study and become a lawyer.His premise was that he did not want to become a lawyer and fight cases for his father who often evicted tenants from a patch of land that they owned on the outskirts of Mangalore.He was instead enrolled in a seminary for studies to become a priest.He went to St Peter's Seminary in Bangalore at the age of 16, to be trained as a Roman Catholic priest, studying philosophy for two and a half years from 1946 to 1948.At the age of 19, he left the seminary due to sheer frustration because he was appalled that the rectors ate better food and sat at higher tables than the seminarians.He later confessed that, "I was disillusioned, because there was a lot of difference between precept and practice where the Church was concerned."Though he was born in a Christian family, he rejected religion, ran away from the seminary, and he was a practising freethinker.He began work at the age of 19, organising exploited workers in the road transport industry and in the hotels and restaurants in Mangalore.Life in MumbaiAfter leaving the seminary, Fernandes moved to Bombay in 1949 in search of a job. His life was tough in Bombay, and he had to sleep on the streets, until he got a job as a proofreader for a newspaper.He relates to the beginning of his career by saying, "When I came to Bombay, I used to sleep on the benches of Chowpatty Sands. In the middle of the night policemen used to come and wake me up and ask me to move on."He came into contact with veteran union leader Placid D'Mello, and the socialist Rammanohar Lohia, who were the greatest influences on his life.Later, he joined the socialist trade union movement.He rose to prominence as a trade unionist and fought for the rights of labourers in small scale service industries such as hotels and restaurants. Emerging as a key figure in the Bombay labour movement in the early 1950s, Fernandes was a central figure in the unionisation of sections of Bombay labour in the 1950s.As a labour organiser, he served many prison terms when his workforce engaged in fights with company goons.He served as a member of the Bombay Municipal Corporation from 1961 to 1968. He won in the civic election in 1961 and, until 1968, continuously raised the problems of the exploited workers in the representative body of the metropolis.The moment that thrust Fernandes into the limelight was his decision to contest the 1967 general election.He was offered a party ticket for the Bombay South constituency by the Samyukta Socialist Party against the more popular S. K. Patil of the Indian National Congress in Bombay. Patil was a seasoned politician, with two decades of experience. Nevertheless, Fernandes won by garnering 48.5 per cent of the votes, thus earning his nickname, "George the Giantkiller".The shocking defeat ended Patil's political career.Fernandes emerged as a key leader in the upsurge of strike actions in Bombay during the second half of the 1960s but, by the beginnings of the 1970s, the impetus of his leadership had largely disappeared.In 1969, he was chosen General Secretary of the Samyukta Socialist Party, and in 1973 became the Chairman of the Socialist Party.[After the 1970s, Fernandes failed to make major inroads in Bombay's growing private-sector industries.1974 railway strikeThe most notable strike organised by Fernandes, when he was President of theAll India Railwaymen's Federation, was the All India Railway strike of 1974, where the entire nation was brought to a halt.The strike was the result of grievances by railway workers that had been built up over two decades before the strike. Though there were three Pay commissions between 1947 and 1974, none of them increased the standard of living of the workers.In February 1974, the National Coordinating Committee for Railwaymen's Struggle (NCCRS) was formed to bring all the railway unions, the central trade unions and political parties in the Opposition together to prepare for the strike to start on 8 May 1974.In Bombay, electricity and transport workers, as well as taxi drivers joined the protests. In Gaya, Bihar, striking workers and their families squatted on the tracks.More than 10,000 workers of the Integral Coach Factory in Madras marched to the Southern Railway headquarters to express their solidarity with the striking workers. Similar protests erupted across the country.The strike, which started on 8 May 1974, at the time of economic crisis, provoked strong government reactions and massive arrests.According to Amnesty International, 30,000 trade unionists were detained, most held under preventive detention laws. Those arrested included not only members of the strike action committee and trade unionists, but also railwaymen who participated in the strike.The strike was called off unilaterally on 27 May 1974 by the Action Committee. As explained later by Fernandes, "the strike was called off because those conducting the strike had started speaking in different voices."Although large number of prisoners were released, among them Fernandes, thousands remained in detention, charged with specific offences.The strike led to a sense of insecurity and threat that led to Indira Gandhi's imposition of the Emergency era in 1975.Previous strikes were aimed at companies or industries, but this strike was aimed at the government and from its ramifications proved to be the most successful of disastrous industrial actions in Indian history.Emergency era and union ministryMain articles: The Emergency (India) and Baroda dynamite caseThe reigning Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, declared a state of emergency on 25 June 1975 due to internal political disturbances.Accordingly, all fundamental rights enjoyed in the Indian Constitution were suspended. Political dissidents, newspaper reporters, opposition leaders who opposed the emergency were jailed.George Fernandes, along with like-minded leaders, opposed what he saw as a blatant misuse of power.A warrant was issued in Fernandes' name and subsequently he went underground to escape arrest and prosecution. When the police failed to capture him, they arrested and tortured his brother, Lawrence Fernandes, to reveal his brother's whereabouts. Snehalata Reddy, a chronic asthmatic was arrested for being in touch with George Fernandes and, as she was not given adequate care in the prison, died soon after her release.In July 1975, Fernandes arrived in Baroda. There, he met Kirit Bhatt, who was president of Baroda Union of Journalists, and Vikram Rao, a staff correspondent of The Times of India at Baroda, both who opposed the Emergency. They used to meet and discuss on what could be done to topple the autocratic Indira Gandhi Government. An industrialist friend, Viren J. Shah, managing director of Mukand Ltd., helped them find contacts for procuring dynamite, used extensively in quarries around Halol (near Baroda). They aimed at blowing up toilets in government offices and cause explosions near the venue of public meetings to be addressed by Indira Gandhi. The idea was not to injure anybody, but only create a scare. The explosions were to be carried out either late in the night or hours before the public meeting was to begin to avoid injury.A plan was hatched to blow up a dais four hours before Indira Gandhi was to address a meeting in Varanasi. The conspiracy later came to be known as the infamous Baroda dynamite case.According to Bhatt, there were two more plans that never worked out. Fernandes also wanted to rob a train used to carry weapons from Pimpri (near Poona) to Bombay. The weapons were to be used to blast government offices. Yet another plan was to take the help of other countries by using ham radio.]On 10 June 1976, he was finally arrested in Calcutta on charges of smuggling dynamite to blow up government establishments in protest against the imposition of emergency, in what came to be known as the Baroda dynamite case.]After his arrest, Amnesty International members cabled the Government requesting that he be given immediate access to a lawyer and that his physical protection be guaranteed.]Three world leaders from Germany, Norway and Austria were believed to have cabled Indira Gandhi and cautioned her against harming Fernandes.From Baroda, the accused were shifted to Tihar Jail. The accused were never chargesheeted.]Union Minister and Muzaffarpur MP post-1977EditAfter the emergency was subsided in January 1977, so that elections could be held on 21 March 1977 in India. The Congress Party, led by Indira Gandhi, suffered a defeat at the hands of the Janata Party, a coalition created in 1977 out of several small parties that opposed Gandhi's Emergency era.][36]The Janata Party and its allies came to power, headed by Morarji Desai, who became the first non-Congress Prime Minister of India.]Fernandes won the Muzaffarpur seat in Bihar by an over 300,000 vote margin in 1977 from jail where he was lodged in the Baroda dynamite case,]despite his not even visiting the constituency.39]He was also appointed the Union Minister for Industries.]During his union ministership, he clashed with American multinationals IBM and Coca-Cola insisting they implement FERA, the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, which had been passed under Indira Gandhi's government. Under the FERA, foreign investors could not own more than 40 per cent of the share capital in Indian enterprises.The two multinationals decided to shut down their Indian operations, when Fernandes pressed ahead with rigid enforcement of FERA.]During his first tenure as MP, Fernandes set up a Doordarshan Kendra (1978), Kanti Thermal Power Station (1978) and the Lijjat papadfactory to generate employment in Muzaffarpur.]]Fernandes also insisted on women's empowerment. In November 2014, Kanti Thermal Power Station was renamed as George Fernandes Thermal Power Station (GFTPS).]Party memberships and railway ministryFernandes (left) with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2000During his tenure as a minister in the Janata Party, he continued to be uncomfortable with certain elements of the broad-based Janata coalition, especially with the leaders of the erstwhile Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Jan Sangh in the Union Cabinet.In a debate preceding a vote of confidence two years into the government's tenure in 1979, he vehemently spoke out against the practice of permitting members to retain connections to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) while being in the ministry in the Janata Party. The leaders of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh, among them Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani, refused to give up their allegiance with the RSS, leading to a split within the Janata Party.The issue of "dual membership" caused Morarji Desai to lose the vote of confidence, and his government was reduced to a minority in the Lok Sabha.]After the Janata Party started disintegrating in 1979, Charan Singh left it to form the Janata (Secular) Party and with support from the Congress Party, replaced Desai as Prime Minister.]In the seventh general elections held in 1980, the Janata (Secular) ministry failed to maintain a majority in the Lok Sabha, and Congress once again became the ruling party.Fernandes retained his Parliamentary seat from Muzaffarpur in 1980, and sat in the opposition.He contested for the Lok Sabhain 1984 from Bangalore North constituency against future Railway minister and Congress candidate C. K. Jaffer Sheriff, but lost the election by a margin of 40,000 voteHe then decided to shift his base to Bihar in 1989, when an anti-Congress wave was sweeping the country in the wake of the Bofors scandal,and won Muzaffarpur in the 1989and 1991 general elections,He later joined the Janata Dal, a party which was formed from the Janata Party at Bangalore in August 1988.His second tenure as Minister of Railways in the V. P. Singh's government from 1989 to 1990, though short-lived, was quite eventful.He was one of the driving forces behind the Konkan Railway project, connecting Mangalore with Bombay.The project happened to be the first major development in the history of rail transport in India since independence.]Fernandes broke away from the erstwhile Janata Dal and formed the Samata Partywhich became a key ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a party which is the current form of the erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh.BJP formed a short-lived government in the 1996 general electionsalong with the Samata Party and other allies. The government survived only for 13 days, since the BJP could not gather enough support from other parties to form a majority.Fernandes later served in the opposition along with BJP during the two United Front governments (1996–1998) led by Janata Dal ministers H. D. Deve Gowda and Inder Kumar Gujral.After the collapse of the United Front ministry led by Gujral, BJP and its allies won a slender majority in the 1998 general elections. The government lasted only for 13 months, due to the non-co-operation of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader Jayalalitha.After the collapse of the second BJP-led coalition government, BJP and its allies formed a 24 party alliance called National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which became the first non-Congress coalition government in post-independence India to survive a full five-year term (1999–2004).Later, Fernandes became the convenor of NDA.On 27 July 1999, the Janata Dal again split into two factions, the Janata Dal (United) and the Janata Dal (Secular).In 2003, Fernandes reunited with the Janata Dal (United), and also merged his Samata Party with it.Defence ministerEditMain articles: Kargil War and Pokhran-IIFernandes (left) with US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in 2002Fernandes served as the Defence Minister of India in both the second and third National Democratic Alliance governments (1998–2004). During his tenure as the defence minister, the Kargil war over Kashmir broke out between India and Pakistan in 1999.The war began when heavily armed Pakistan-backed intruders dug themselves in at heights of 16,000 feet (4,900 m) – 18,000 feet (5,500 m) on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LOC) along an 80 kilometres (50 mi) stretch north of Kargil. They began attacking the strategic highway linking Srinagar and Leh.As a result, the Indian army undertook the Operation Vijay to push back the Pakistani intruders and regain the occupied territories.]The inability of the Indian intelligence and military agencies to detect the infiltration early received criticism, both by the opposition as well as the media. However, Fernandes has refused to acknowledge the failure of intelligence agencies in detecting infiltration along Kargil sector.]In May 1998, India conducted five nuclear tests at the Pokharan range in Rajasthan.Earlier a staunch supporter of nuclear disarmament, Fernandes openly endorsed the NDA government's decision to test the nuclear bombs.He was also involved in skirmishes with the then Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy, Vishnu Bhagwat, over promotion of Vice-Admiral Harinder Singh as Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff. Bhagwat was subsequently sacked over the issue.After the Tehelka defence scandal broke out in March 2001, Fernandes quit as defence minister, but was reappointed to the post later.Fernandes is the only defence minister of a nuclear power who had a picture of Hiroshima bombing in his office. He made 18 visits to the icy heights of the 6,600 metres (4.1 mi) Siachen glacier in Kashmir, which holds the record of being "the world's highest battlefield".He was known for overseeing a huge increase in India's defence budget as compared to the allocations made by previous governments.[MMAfter the defence ministershipEditThe NDA Government lost power to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance(UPA) in the 2004 general elections.[71]Later, political observers alleged that Fernandes was locked in a bitter party rivalry with his one-time friend, Samata Party co-founder, Nitish Kumar.[72]In the 2009 general elections, he contested from Muzaffarpur as an independent candidate after being denied a ticket by the Janata Dal (United) on health grounds,[73]but he lost the election.[74]On 30 July 2009, Fernandes filed his nomination as an independent candidate for the mid-term poll being held for the Rajya Sabha seat vacated by Janata Dal (United) president Sharad Yadav.[75]The Janata Dal (United) did not field any candidate against him, which led to his being elected unopposed. He was sworn in on 4 August 2009.[76]Other activitiesEditSupport to secessionist groups in Sri LankaEditFernandes supported and endorsed many secessionist movements and groups. He was a long time supporter of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), an organisation which sought to create an independent state in the north and east of Sri Lanka.[77]Before 1997, he organised a controversial public convention of pro-LTTE delegates in New Delhi.[77]In July 1998, he reportedly prevented the Indian Navy from intercepting ships that were suspected of carrying illegal weapons to Tamil guerrilla groups.[77]Fernandes was also a patron of the Fund Raising Committee backed by the LTTE, with an objective to help the 26 accused in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.[77]The Sri Lankan government stated that, "the LTTE's biggest supporter in India is Defence Minister George Fernandes."[77]He also expressed support for Tibetan refugees fighting for freedom against China, and Burmese pro-democratic rebel groups fighting against the military government in Myanmar.[78]He revealed the infamous "Operation Leech" incident, which resulted in the capture of Arakan Army insurgents on one of India's islands in the Andaman Sea. He also fought for the welfare and release of anti-Burmese rebels held by the Indian Government.[79]CIA fundingEditMain article: Kissinger cablesDuring the Emergency, as chairman of the Socialist Party of India, he faced prosecution for alleged conspiracy against the government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.[80]He allegedly sought to obtain funding from the US Central Intelligence Agency and the French government to organise underground sabotage activities. US diplomatic cables said that after an initial request to seek funding from the French government was turned down, he was "prepared to accept money from the CIA".[80]Tehelka scandalEditMain article: Operation West EndFernandes' name figured prominently in Operation West End, a sting operation in which journalist Mathew Samuel, armed with hidden cameras, from a controversial investigative journal, Tehelka, posing as representatives of a fictitious arms company, appeared to bribe the Bharatiya Janata PartyPresident, Bangaru Laxman, a senior officer in the Indian Army and Jaya Jaitly, the General Secretary of the Samata Party and Fernandes' companion.[81]The scandal caused uproar all over India and Fernandes was forced to resign from his post as a Defence Minister. He was subsequently cleared by the one man commission headed by retired Justice Phukan. The Phukan Committee Report was rejected by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government headed by the Congress Party and a new committee headed by Justice K Venkataswami was appointed. The Committee investigated the case in detail, but Justice Venkataswami resigned before submitting the report in the case.[82]Barak Missile scandalEditMain article: Barak Missile scandalOn 10 October 2006, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a First information report (FIR) against Fernandes, his associate Jaya Jaitly, and former navy chief Admiral Sushil Kumar for alleged irregularities in purchasing the ₹7 billion(US$97 million) Barak 1 system from Israel in 2000.[83]Fernandes, however, said that the scientific adviser to the Defence Minister in National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government (1998–2004), who later became the President of India, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, had cleared the missile deal.[83]As defence ministerEditFollowing the Pokhran nuclear tests in 1998, he openly branded China as "India's enemy number one".[84]He later expressed regret for his statements, saying it was wrongly interpreted by the media.[7][70]He has also criticised China for providing sophisticated weapons to Pakistan to build its missiles, and has rapped the Chinese for strengthening their military across the Himalayas in Tibet.[70]Fernandes has claimed that he was strip searched twice at Dulles Airport in the US Capital area, when he was defence minister—once on an official visit to Washington in early 2002 and another time while en route to Brazil in mid-2003. The details of the strip-search were mentioned in American foreign policy analyst Strobe Talbott's book Engaging India – Diplomacy, Democracy and the Bomb.[85]However, the US embassy in Delhi issued a formal denial that Fernandes had been strip-searched,[86]and said that, "Fernandes was not strip-searched but a security wand was waved over him when a key in his pocket set off the metal detector."[87]Subsequently, the then United States Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage, personally apologised to Fernandes over the matter.[87]This was one in a series of incidents involving the detention and search of Indian VIPs at US airports that marred Indian–US relations post 9/11.[88]He was accused in the 2002 coffin scam, following allegations that 500 poor quality aluminium caskets were bought from the United States at rates 13 times more than the actual price, to transport the bodies of slain soldiers, after the Kargil War.[89]However, the CBI gave a clean sheet to Fernandes in the scam in its 2009 charge sheet.[90]Critics have charged the Congress Party for hounding George Fernandes for speaking out against Sonia Gandhi and the Nehru dynasty as looters.[91]Writings, journalism and other contibutionsEditFernandes liked writing and journalism in his student days. He was the editor of a Konkani language monthly Konkani Yuvak (Konkani Youth) in 1949. The same year, he was the editor of the Raithavani weekly in Kannada.[92]The Dockman weekly in English, which had ceased publication, reappeared under the editorship of Fernandes in 1952–53.[93]Though not a prolific writer, Fernandes wrote several books on politics including What Ails the Socialists (1972),[94]Socialist Communist Interaction in India,[95]In the year of the disabled: India's disabled government(1981),[96]Dignity for All: Essays in Socialism and Democracy (1991),[97]and his autobiography titled George Fernandes Speaks(1991).[98]He was the editor of an English monthly, The Other Side, and the chairman of the editorial board of the Hindi monthly Pratipaksh.[4]A human rights activist, Fernandes was been a member of Amnesty International, the People's Union for Civil Liberties and the Press Council of India.[99]Family and personal lifeEditFernandes met Leila Kabir, the daughter of former Union minister Humayun Kabir, on a flight back to Delhi from Calcutta. Fernandes, then the general secretary of the Samyukta Socialist Party, was returning from Bangladesh while Kabir was on her way back from the battlefront where she had gone as an assistant director of the Red Cross. They began dating and were married on 22 July 1971.[100]They had a son, Sean Fernandes, who is an investment banker based in New York.[101]Fernandes and Kabir separated in the mid-1980s.[101]Jaya Jaitly was Fernandes' companion from 1984.[101]Fernandes spoke ten languages—Konkani, English, Hindi, Tulu, Kannada, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Malayalam, and Latin. Konkani was his mother tongue. He learnt Marathi and Urdu in jail, and Latin while he was in the seminary in his early youth. He was fluent in Hindi and English.[102]Fernandes was reported to be suffering from Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, and in January 2010 was undergoing treatment at Baba Ramdev's ashram at Haridwar[103]for the diseases at the request of Leila Kabir, who had recently returned to his life.[104]In February 2010, Fernandes' brothers were reported to have been considering a court order for medical treatment and visitation; Kabir and Sean Fernandes are alleged to have forcibly removed Fernandes to an undisclosed location.[105]In July 2010, the Delhi High Court ruled that Fernandes would stay with Kabir and that Fernandes' brothers would be able to visit.[106]In August 2012 the Supreme Court of Indiagranted permission to Jaya Jaitly, a former aide, to visit him, a move which was opposed by his wife on the ground of her locus standi.[107]He died at the age of 88 on 29 January 2019, in Delhi following a prolonged illness.Thanks.Courtesy; Google.

The question being asked is "Why did the crusader against corruption choose a PS who was tainted? What were these 'untenable' charges? Why were they made? Who made them?" The most important one being "Is there any truth in these charges?"There is a story that the CBI and media do not want the world to know and a fellow IITian/bureaucrat has written it down for people to know how canards are spread.Was the raid at the Chief Minister's office premises an officer's residence justified? Was the raid merely a pretext to see how much AAP had unearthed on DDCA? Are politicians across parties involved in the cricketing scam and do they stick their necks out to protect each other in a quid pro quo arrangement? Is BJP behaving like the elder brother that keeps kicking the younger brother repeatedly under the table and cries foul to the nation when he yells? Is AAP and particularly, Kejriwal losing political morality by calling the highest order of the nation abusive names?These are all questions that shall not have an answer at the end of this article. But, is the career of a person who may be innocent going to be finished because of this war? Maybe. That is why I choose to bring this here...for people to read and understand that when a voice is not heard, we end up hearing what other voices want us to hear.Source: Leaving Facebook... Alleged cases of corruption against Rajendra Kumar (IAS), Principal Secretary in CMO, NCT Delhi - What CBI and Media would not like you to knowRajendra Kumar comes from a modest middle class background. He did his schooling from a fully govt funded residential school named Netarhat School.Rajendra subsequently went to IIT Kanpur from where he obtained a B. Tech. degree in electrical engineering before joining the IAS in 1989.He along with 2 other IAS officers of AGMUT Cadre Vijay Kumar and Gitanjali G Kundra and Ashok Kumar were given the Prime Ministers Award for Excellence in Public Administration on April 21, 2008. Besides the computerization work done by him won the following awards.Four National e- Governance awards (One of them for Caltoonz). No organization has achieved it in the country.Indian Express Award for e Governance (Only three organisations get it in a year across the country.Computer society of India award for e- Governance.Study from IIM Ahmedabad thoroughly praised the manner in which the computerization was done on a shoestring budget.It is remarkable that all the development was done without hiring an outside agency, but hiring own teachers and part time programmers having pay of Rs 6000 to Rs 25,000.The design of ERP was so farsighted and robust that the entire Education Department is still drawing salary for around 50,000 teachers online, taking mark-sheets, SLC, admission etc. of more than 18 Lakhs students, and all other routine works through the online ERP. It would be pertinent here to mention that after a lapse of 13 years, even today NO other Indian state has been able to achieve the level of computerization that was done at that time with minimal resources.Ashish Joshi is a 1992 batch Indian Post and Telecommunication Finance Service (IP&TAFS) officer. He made a public statement that he was being humiliated and repatriated because he smoked cigar and chewed gutkha. Govt of Delhi refuted this allegation and issued an extra ordinary explanation which can been seen at http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/govt-accuses-fired-official-of-faults-graver-than-smoking-cigars-at-work/#sthash.pNk6Q6Ib.dpuf .An extract from this explanation as reported by Indian Express is as below is as below.“The Indian Express had reported on Saturday that the government, in a letter to the telecom secretary towards the end of April, forwarded a note sent by DDC vice-chairman Ashish Khetan to DDC chairman, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, which said that “on several occasions, he (Joshi) has been found smoking cigars and chewing tobacco within office premises.This was mentioned in the note written by the DDC vice-chairman to the chief minister but this was not a reason for Joshi’s repatriation. The reasons are far too serious,” a government official said.The government’s statement read, “The officer concerned is supposed to be aware of the conduct rules of service. There are clear instances of multiple violations of these rules by this officer, which have now been duly communicated to his parent cadre.”Joshi takes this as a humiliation and holds Rajendra Kumar responsible for the same. His grudge against Rajendra Kumar was openly mentioned in his email to the chief secretary K K Sharma. The content of his email to the chief secretary of NCT Delhi can be seen at http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/ex-dialogue-panel-secy-protests-humiliation-by-aap-leaders/ .Mukesh Kumar Meena is an IPS Officer of 1989 batch in AGMUT Cadre. He was appointed by the Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung as Chief of ACB in Delhi by overruling the objections of the Delhi Govt and against the wishes of the Chief Minister Arvind Kejariwal. His appointment is perceived as an effort by the central government to control and tame the anti-corruption body which AAP govt has been using as a tool against corruption and corrupt officers.Ashish Joshi and Meena regularly go for a walk together in the park. Both of them have grudge against the Delhi govt. and decide to cooperate with each other in settling their scores with the Delhi govt. Ashish Joshi, after his repatriation orders from the Delhi govt., files a complaint in Parliament Street Police Station, New Delhi in May 2015. This complain is more of a threat to Mr. Rajendra Kumar and Mr. Nagendra Sharma, the Media Advisor to the Delhi govt. than a complaint. The media reporting of the complaint can be seen at http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/ashish-joshi-files-complaint-against-cm-secretary/ . The summary of this complaint is as below.A social activist Indu Prakash Singh files a complaint with the CM of Delhi against Ashish Joshi on April 4, 2015.Ashish Joshi asks Rajendra Kumar to refute the allegations and accusations against him in the complaint of the social activist within 48 hours and threatens Kumar to file criminal complaints against him if he did not meet the demands of Joshi. The language used by Joshi in this complain against Kumar shows that he holds Kumar responsible for the complaint filed against Joshi by the social activist. The extract of the language from Ashish Joshi’s complaint about his communication to Kumar is as below.“If an official refutation regarding the email sent by Indu Prakash Singh is not issued by you within 48 hours, I will be constrained to file an FIR against all, as the mail has pictures of Singh meeting the CM and Singh could not have issued the email without the involvement of senior officials and officials in the CM’s office”Rajendra Kumar does not accede to the demands of JoshiJoshi files this complaint against him in Parliament Street police Station.There does not seem to be any action on the complain of Joshi by the Parliament Street police station. Joshi talks to Meena and Meena advises him to file a complaint against Rajendra Kumar with ACB after collecting some information about Rajendra Kumar and his working style. Joshi speaks to many people in the administrative circle whom he considers useful against Kumar and files the copied below complaint against Kumar with the ACB on 12th June 2015.Meena tries his best to malign and implicate Rajendra Kumar on the basis of this complaint and also releases of a copy of this complaint against Kumar to media. However, the officers under him tell him that there is no substance in the complaint and it would not be possible to implicate Kumar on the basis of this frivolous and bereft of facts complain. Meena advises Joshi to submit his complaint to CBI and also to request ACB to transfer his complaint to CBI on the grounds that since ACB did not take any action on his complaint, he has already submitted his complaint to CBI and therefore ACB should transfer his complaint to CBI. This was done despite the fact that Meena had initially said in his press briefing, after he had made the complaint public, that the ACB was conducting an inquiry into Joshi’s complaint.The true facts and substance as mentioned in Joshi’s complaint are as below.Joshi says that he learnt about the corrupt practices of Kumar while implementing e-governance in DUSIB but does not say anything about how Kumar was related to DUSIB, or for that matter “Caltoonz” by Education Department or VAT or health Department.He alleges that Rajendra Kumar has formed a company by the name of Endeavour Systems Pvt. Ltd. along with Ashok Kumar, Sandeep Kumar and Dinesh Kumar Gupta. On perusal of the records related to the Endeavour Systems Pvt. Ltd it can be clearly seen that neither Mr Rajendra kumar or Mr Ashok kumar or any of their even distant relatives is either a director or shareholder of the said company. In fact, none of them even share caste with Mr, Rajendra Kumar. It can be readily seen on ROC website of the ministry of company affairs (it can also be viewed at https://www.zaubacorp.com/company-directors/ENDEAVOUR-SYSTEMS-PRIVATE-LIMITED/U72900DL2006PTC153495).Ashok Kumar indeed worked for the Govt of Delhi and worked as the Project Manager for the Caltoonz Project. He has confirmed that he knew Rajendra Kumar since his school days and considered him his mentor, guru, guide and source of inspiration. Both Rajendra Kumar and Ashok Kumar studied at the same residential school in Bihar. It seems all the alumni of this residential school, by the name of Netarhat School, have a very close and strong bonding with each other and they all keep meeting each other on various formal and informal social occasions. The school alumni has a number of senior bureaucrats, technocrats, professionals and civil servants serving the central and state govt across the country, having Four IAS officers only in Delhi Govt.Ashok Kumar indeed resigned from the govt services in 2009 and joined hands with some of his very long time friends with whom he has been a friend since his school days and who have already been in private business for more than 20 years. He confirms that he joined hands with his close and friendly seniors from his school days who had already been in business offering to contribute his experiences and skills to help the business grow. He continues to be a part of this business team. He further confirms that neither Rajendra Kumar nor any of his direct or indirect relatives (even distant relatives) are share-holder or director of a company or business that he (Ashok Kumar) is associated with as a Director, share-holder or in any other capacity.Ashok Kumar had given a written statement to the media, when his name was first mentioned in the media after Meena had made Joshi’s complain public, that not a single penny from the Caltoonz project was diverted from its officially intended use, almost the entire amount went for payment of Honorarium to Govt school teachers, and part time multimedia artists, with little amount going towards purchase of computers.Ashok Kumar and his partners, invited Sandeep Kumar and Dinesh Gupta in the year 2013 who have already been working in the field of IT services for the last 7 years to work on some joint project, nothing to do with the Government. The only relation between Ashok Kumar and Sandeep Kumar that can be established on the basis of facts on record is that they first came in contact with each other while working together on the same project in the department of education of the Delhi govt and kept in touch with each other ever since and once again joined hands to work together after a gap of 7 years when Ashok Kumar and his long time friends and partners decided to venture in the IT services company named Educity, which does not do business in the Government field.A list of all the companies that Sandeep Kumar (DIN No. 00643605), Dinesh Kumar Gupta (DIN No. 00643666) or Ashok Kumar (DIN No. 03342412) are associated with has been checked with their DIN numbers. None of these companies have name of any other person as a director or shareholder who could be linked or related to Rajendra Kumar in anyway.The allegation by Joshi that Mr, Rajendra Kumar got Endeavour Systems Pvt. Ltd. empanelled with ICSIL is also impossible since any Department head of Delhi Govt. other than DSIIDC chairman does not control ICSIL, the Chairman of which is ex post facto chairman of ICSIL, and Rajendra kumar was never posted with DSIIDC. The list of empanelled vendors with ICSIL available on their website (http://icsil.in/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Vendor-Empanelment.pdf) does not contain the name of Endeavour Systems or any other similar name although it has the name of 77 other empanelled vendors.Sandeep Kumar has confirmed that his company Endeavour Systems had done a very small business with ICSIL, and till date would not have got payment of more than Rs. 5 to 6 crores in 5 years. So the amount of Rs. 50 crores in the allegation remains far-fetched. He further says that all software projects were given through open tender, other than manpower supply, for which NICSI (Govt. of India Company) benchmark was used, because quality manpower or programmers cannot be chosen through tenders. Sandeep also confirms that the total business done for these Delhi Govt. entities during the entire business life of Enveavour Systems of 9 years has not been more than 9.5 crore in contrast to the allegation of the irregularity of 50 crore in the complaint of Joshi. In any case, the processes adopted by a Government company is none of the business of a private company.The Pixel Infotech mentioned in the complain was incorporated on 30 June 2004. The company is defunct since 2010. It indeed had the name of Pratibha Sahay having DIN Number 00126922 as one of its directors appointed on 10th January 2010. This company is registered at the same address that some of the companies, of which Ashok Kumar is a director of, is registered at. This address happens to be the office address of the regular CA and Auditor of the companies that Ashok Kumar is a Director of. The CA, Mr. U K Sinha, has confirmed that Pratibha Sahay, having DIN Number 00126922 who was the director of Pixel Infotech Private Limited, is his wife and is also the director of Winklix Internet Private Limited and The Best Institute of Accounting and Taxation Pvt. Ltd. He has further said that he or his wife Pratibha Sahay have absolutely no relation with Mr. Rajendra Kumar or his wife Nandini Sahay except that they both have “Sahay” as their surnames. Besides, The named Pixel infotech has not done any business in its life other than doing some business in cements worth around Rs 12 lakhs, absolutely nothing to do with Government.There is no source or lead mentioned in the complaint which, upon preliminary investigation, can give rise to even some degree of doubt or suspicion on Mr. Rajendra Kumar.Last but not the least the 2 largest projects bagged by the company worth around 2-3 crores are ERP for VAT and DJB. None of them were awarded during the tenure of Mr. Rajendra Kumar.Moreover for DJB project, the NSDL(National Securities depository limited) estimated a cost of Rs. 20 crores, which was taken by Endeavour for Rs. 2.19 Crores (One tenth the cost).Even in the VAT project, Rs. 12 crores was surrendered by the VAT department out of already estimated and sanctioned amount by Govt. of India Mission mode project under NEGP (National E Governance programe) as the work was done in only around 2 crores, way below the estimate of more than Rs 14 Crores. In fact Companies have charged more amount for preparing the RFP in other states.Source: Message from fellow IITians of Rajendra KumarFirst they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—Because I was not a Socialist.Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—Because I was not a Trade Unionist.Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—Because I was not a Jew.Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

What Is a Budget?A budget is an estimation of revenue and expenses over a specified future period of time and is usually compiled and re-evaluated on a periodic basis. Budgets can be made for a person, a group of people, a business, a government, or just about anything else that makes and spends money.Volume 75%1:52How To Build A BudgetUnderstanding BudgetingA budget is a microeconomic concept that shows the trade-off made when one good is exchanged for another. In terms of the bottom line—or the end result of this trade-off—a surplus budget means profits are anticipated, a balanced budget means revenues are expected to equal expenses, and a deficit budget means expenses will exceed revenues.To manage your monthly expenses, prepare for life's unpredictable events, and be able to afford big-ticket items without going into debt, budgeting is important. Keeping track of how much you earn and spend doesn't have to be drudgery, doesn't require you to be good at math, and doesn't mean you can't buy the things you want. It just means that you'll know where your money goes, you'll have greater control over your finances.KEY TAKEAWAYSA budget is an estimation of revenue and expenses over a specified future period of time and is utilized by governments, businesses, and individuals.A budget is basically a financial plan for a defined period, normally a year that is known to greatly enhance the success of any financial undertaking.Corporate budgets are essential for operating at peak efficiency.Aside from earmarking resources, a budget can also aid in setting goals, measuring outcomes, and planning for contingencies.Personal budgets are extremely useful in managing an individual's or family's finances over both the short and long term horizon.Corporate BudgetsBudgets are an integral part of running any business efficiently and effectively.Budget Development ProcessThe process begins by establishing assumptions for the upcoming budget period. These assumptions are related to projected sales trends, cost trends, and the overall economic outlook of the market, industry, or sector. Specific factors affecting potential expenses are addressed and monitored.The budget is published in a packet that outlines the standards and procedures used to develop it, including the assumptions about the markets, key relationships with vendors that provide discounts, and explanations of how certain calculations were made.The sales budget is often the first to be developed, as subsequent expense budgets cannot be established without knowing future cash flows. Budgets are developed for all the different subsidiaries, divisions, and departments within an organization. For a manufacturer, a separate budget is often developed for direct materials, labor, and overhead.All budgets get rolled up into the master budget, which also includes budgeted financial statements, forecasts of cash inflows and outflows, and an overall financing plan. At a corporation, the top management reviews the budget and submits it for approval to the board of directors.Static Vs. Flexible BudgetsThere are two major types of budgets: static budgets and flexible budgets. A static budget remains unchanged over the life of the budget. Regardless of changes that occur during the budgeting period, all accounts and figures originally calculated remain the same.A flexible budget has a relational value to certain variables. The dollar amounts listed on a flexible budget change based on sales levels, production levels, or other external economic factors.Both types of budgets are useful for management. A static budget evaluates the effectiveness of the original budgeting process, while a flexible budget provides deeper insight into business operations.Personal BudgetsIndividuals and families can have budgets, too. Creating and using a budget is not just for those who need to closely monitor their cash flows from month to month because "money is tight." Almost everyone—even people with large paychecks and plenty of money in the bank—can benefit from budgeting.ADVISOR INSIGHTDerek Notman, CFP®, ChFC, CLUIntrepid Wealth Partners, LLC, Madison, WIThe importance of budgeting cannot be understated. A budget, also known as cash flow, is arguably more important than the actual cash that you have in your bank and investment accounts. Your cash flow is what allows you to pay for everything (or not).Without knowing your cash flow, you could be putting yourself into a bad financial situation and not even know it. You can only get by without knowing your cash flow for so long before you get into financial trouble, so make the time you know the flow of your cash. Budgeting should be something that everyone does, regardless of their financial situation.Budgeting is a wonderful tool for managing your finances, but many people think it's not for them. Below is a list of budget myths—the erroneous logic that stops people from keeping track of their finances and allocating money in the best way.1. I Don't Need to BudgetHaving a handle on your monthly income and expenses allows you to make sure your hard-earned money is being put to its highest and best purpose. For those who enjoy an income that covers all bills with money left over, a budget can help maximize savings and investments.If one's monthly expenses typically consume the lion's share of net income, any budget should focus on identifying and classifying all the expenses that occur during the month, quarter, and year. And for people whose cash flow is tight, it can be crucial for identifying expenses that could be reduced or cut, and minimizing any wasteful interest being paid on credit cards or other debt.2. I'm Not Good at MathThanks to budgeting software, you don't have to be good at math; you simply have to be able to follow instructions. Many of these programs are free and legitimate. If you know how to use spreadsheet software, you can make your own ledger. It's as simple as creating one column for your income, another column for your expenses, and then keeping a running tab on the difference between the two.3. My Job Is SecureNo one's job is truly safe. If you work for a corporation, being laid off due to downsizing or a takeover always is a possibility. If you work for a small company, it could die with its owner, be bought out, or just fold.You should always be prepared for a job loss by having at least three months' worth of living expenses in the bank. It's easier to accumulate this financial cushion if you know the amount you're bringing in and spending each month, which can be monitored with a budget.4. Unemployment Insurance Will Tide Me OverUnemployment compensation is not a sure thing. Let's say a bad situation at work leaves you with no choice but to quit your job. Unless you can prove constructive discharge (that is, you were virtually forced to resign), your departure will be considered voluntary, making you ineligible for unemployment insurance. Besides, the benefits may fall well short of the wages you're used to: for most states, they average between $300 and $500 per week.5. I Don't Want to Deprive MyselfBudgeting is not synonymous with spending as little money as possible or making yourself feel guilty about every purchase. The aim of budgeting is to make sure you're able to save a little each month, ideally at least 10% of your income, or at the very least, to make sure that you aren't spending more than you earn.Unless you're on a very tight budget, you should be able to buy baseball tickets and go out to eat. Tracking your expenses does not change the amount of money you have available to spend every month; it just tells you where that money is going.6. I Don't Want Anything BigIf you don't have any major savings goals (buying a house, starting your own business), it's hard to drum up the motivation to stash away extra cash each month. However, your situation and your attitudes likely will change over time.Perhaps you don't want to save up for a house because you live in New York City and expect that renting will be the most affordable option for the rest of your life. But in five years, you might be sick of the Big Apple and decide to move to rural Vermont. Suddenly, buying a home becomes more affordable and you might wish you had five years' worth of savings in the bank for a down payment.7. I Won't Qualify for Student Financial AidYes, the catch-22 of student financial aid is that the more money you have, the less aid you'll be eligible for. That's enough to make anyone wonder if it isn't better to just spend it all and have no savings in order to qualify for the maximum amount of grants and loans.But that catch mainly applies to earn income. Whether you are an adult student going back to school or the parent of a student headed to college, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form (used for Stafford Loans, Perkins Loans, or Pell Grants), does not require you to report the value of your primary residence (if you own a home) or the value of your retirement accounts.1So if you want to save money without compromising your financial aid eligibility, you can do so by using your savings to buy a house, prepay your mortgage, or contribute more money to your retirement accounts. The savings you put into these assets can still be accessed if you face an emergency, but you won't be penalized for it.Even if you employ all the available legal strategies to maximize your financial aid eligibility, you still won't always qualify for as much aid as you need, so it's not a bad idea to have your own source of funds to make up for any shortfall.8. I'm Debt-FreeGood for you! But being debt-free without any savings won't pay your bills in an emergency. A zero balance can quickly become a negative balance if you don't have a safety net.9. I Always Get a Raise or Tax RefundIt's never a good idea to count on unpredictable sources of income. This may be the year your company may not have enough money to give you a raise or as much of a raise as you'd hoped for. The same is true of bonus money. Tax refunds are more reliable, but this depends in part on how good you are at calculating your own tax liability.Some people know how to figure how much they'll get in a refund (or how much they will owe) as well as how to adjust this figure through changes in payroll withholding throughout the year. However, changes in tax deductions, IRS regulations, or other life events can mean a nasty surprise on your tax return.10. I Just Don't Have the DisciplineIf you're still not convinced that budgeting is for you, here's a way to protect yourself from your own spending habits. Set up an automatic transfer from your checking account to a savings account you won't see (i.e., at a different bank), scheduled to happen right after you get paid.If you are saving for retirement, you may have the option of contributing a set amount regularly to a 401(k) or other retirement savings plan. This way, you can pay yourself first, have enough money for the transfer, and pay yourself the same predetermined amount that you know will help you meet your savings goals.Building a BudgetIn general, traditional budgeting starts with tracking expenses, eliminating debt, and once the budget is balanced, building an emergency fund. But to speed up the process, you could start by building a partial emergency fund. This emergency fund acts as a buffer as the rest of the budget is put in place and should replace the use of credit cards for emergency situations.The key is to build the fund at regular intervals, consistently devoting a certain percentage of each paycheck toward it, and if possible, putting in whatever you can spare on top. This will get you to think about your spending, too.What's an Emergency?You should only use the emergency money for true emergencies: like when you drive to work but your muffler stays at home, your water heater dies, or a leak springs in your roof.You would save money if you used your emergency fund to eliminate credit card debt, but the purpose of the fund is to prevent you from having to use your credit card for paying for unexpected expenses. With a proper emergency fund, you will not need your credit card to keep you afloat when something goes wrong.Downsize and SubstituteNow that you have a buffer between you and high-interest debt, it is time to start the process of downsizing. The more space you can create between your expenses and your income, the more income you will have to pay down debt and invest.This can be a process of substitution as much as elimination. For example, if you have a monthly gym membership, cancel it. Use half of the money you save to invest or pay off outstanding debts, and save the other half to begin building a home gym in your basement. Instead of buying coffee from a fancy coffee shop every day, invest in a coffee maker with a grinder and make your own, saving more money over the long term.Although eliminating expenses entirely is the fastest way to a solid budget, substitution tends to have more lasting effects. People often cut too deep and end up making a budget that they can't keep because it feels like they are giving up everything. Substitution, in contrast, keeps the basics while cutting down the costs.Find New Sources of IncomeWhy isn't this the first step? If you simply increase your income without a budget to handle the extra cash properly, the gains tend to slip through the cracks and vanish. Once you have your budget in place and have more money coming in than going out (along with the buffer of an emergency fund), you can start investing to create more income.It is better to have no debt before you begin investing. If you are young, however, the rewards of investing in higher-risk, high-return vehicles like stocks can outweigh most low-interest debt over time.Sticking to a BudgetNow you understand the finer points of budgeting. You've accomplished all of the above, even put together a nice spreadsheet that lays out your budget for the next 15 years. The only problem is that sticking to that budget isn't as easy you thought. That credit card still calls your name, and your "clothes" category seems awfully small and you feel deprived. Budgets, you decide, are no fun.The good news is you don't have to throw it all out the window just because you've messed up once or twice.Remember the Big PictureThe point of the budget is to keep you out of overwhelming debt and help you build a financial future that will give you more freedom, not less. So think about how you want your future to be and remember that keeping to your budget will help you get there. Adding to your debt load, on the other hand, will mean that your future could be even tighter.Remove the Options That Allow You to Cheat on Your BudgetMake it more difficult on yourself to make impulse purchases; in other words, set up barriers so you have time to stop and think: "Is this purchase necessary?" Take yourself off retailer email lists. Remove your stored payment information on your favorite online shops so you can't just click to order.Find Some SupportIf you feel like you're the only one in your group who is on a budget, search and find some like-minded folks. It could be an online forum, a monthly meeting, or even just a couple of friends traveling the same budgetary road. You need to know you're not the only person setting sane financial limits for yourself. You can also have accountability with your frugal buddies, talking things over and each other out of temptation.Go Old SchoolThere's something powerful about handing over a stack of $20 bills for purchase: It causes you to really think about the amount of money you're about to spend. Swiping a debit card, on the other hand, may not feel nearly as real. Similarly, paying bills by writing checks and promptly entering the sums into your register keeps you up-to-date on how your account is affected in a way that autopay doesn't.You don't have to use cash exclusively or completely forgo online payments, but handling transactions in old-fashioned ways can make you realize how much you're spending and enhance the power of self-regulation.Reward YourselfIf you are constantly looking at what you have to cut and give up, the very act of budgeting will become distasteful. A mixture of long- and short-term gifts to yourself will help keep you motivated. When you've been faithful to your budget for a month, give yourself a reward. Even small ones can help, such as a night out with friends, a concert or a little extra cash for spending. Keep visual reminders of these rewards or the things you're saving up for. Start building associations in your brain—that sticking to your budget has a pleasurable result.Schedule a Periodic Budget EvaluationIt's difficult to predict how much money you'll need in every category of life; a new job may necessitate a wardrobe change and your clothing budget may not cut it. That's why it's important to have a regular check on how you've created your budget. If it isn't working, tweak it. It is your budget, after all—just make sure you keep your long-term financial goals in the picture.Educate YourselfInstead of taking the more common road of instant gratification, which leads so easily to overspending and endless debt, learn all you can about finances, money management, and how you can best invest in yourself. Talk to your financially savvy friends and get real-world tips and advice from people who are doing well with their money.The more you learn about handling money wisely and its rewards, the more concrete the reasons for budgeting will be, and the better you will be at not only creating a budget that works for you, but also sticking to it.Ways To Budget When You're BrokeBudgeting strategies sound fine, but if you're in dire straits financially or suffering from mounting bills and a lack of funds, there are some other possible steps to take.1. Avoid Immediate DisasterDon't be afraid to request bill extensions or payment plans from creditors. Skipping or delaying payments only worsens your debt—and besides, late fees ding your credit score.2. Prioritize BillsGo over all your bills to see what must be paid first and then set up a payment schedule based on your paydays. You will want to leave yourself some catch-up time if some of your bills are already late.If this is the case, call the bill companies to see how much you can pay now to get back on track toward positive status. Tell them you are taking strict measures to catch up. Be honest about the amount you can afford to pay; don't just promise to pay the full amount later.3. Ignore the 10% Savings RuleStashing 10% of your income into your savings account is daunting when you're living paycheck to paycheck. It doesn't make sense to have $100 in a savings plan if you are fending off debt collectors. Your piggy bank will have to starve until you can find financial stability.4. Review SpendingTo fix your finances, you need to get a handle on your outlay first. Online banking and online budgeting software can help you categorize spending so you can make adjustments. Many people find that just by looking at aggregate figures for discretionary expenses, they are spurred to change their patterns and reduce excessive spending.5. Eliminate Unnecessary ExpensesOnce you've got a sense of where the money goes, it's time to tighten up. All cutbacks should start with items you wouldn't miss or habits you should change anyway—like reducing your fresh food purchases if you find ingredients spoiling before you can eat them. Or preparing meals at home more instead of going to restaurants or getting takeout.Some expenses you shouldn't drop but might be able to adjust could include reducing your auto insurance rate by switching carriers.6. Negotiate Credit Card Interest RatesThere are other proactive ways to reduce expenses. Those killer interest rates on your credit cards aren't fixed in stone, for example. Call the card company and ask for a reduction in the annual percentage rates (APR); if you have a good record, your request might be approved. This won't lower your outstanding balance, but it will keep it from mushrooming as fast.7. Keep a Budget JournalOnce you've gone through these steps, monitor your progress for a few months. You can do this by writing everything you spend in a notebook, via budgeting apps on your phone, or with that software you used in step 4 to review your spending.How you track your money isn't as important as how much you are tracking. Focus on ensuring that every cent is accounted for by dividing your expenses into categories. Fine-tune and adjust the spending as needed after each month.8. Seek New IncomeFor the time being, saving and investing money is out. But consider ways to increase earnings: working overtime, getting a second job, or picking up some freelance work.A budget isn't a prison cell to keep you away from your money. Rather, it's a tool you use to make sure your future is better—and yes, richer, than your present.