Have you ever tried to lose weight? Back in high school, I was that kid who was so skinny that I got talked about. And not in a good way. I even tried to gain weight but without success. I stayed this way all throughout my 20s, but in my 30s, weight-gain finally came knocking on my door.

I’d spent some time abroad and delighted myself with the best food, cookies and pastries I’ve ever had in my life! That’s when the extra-pounds transition came. I knew I had to do something about it. I tried working out. I tried eating less fatty foods. And I started to feel a little better. I saw a little change.

But nothing gave me results as well as when I started measuring everything.

I’d always heard that you must burn more calories than you consume in order to lose weight. So one day, it finally dawned on me that if I wanted to have success with losing weight, I had to do some math. I needed to calculate how many calories I was taking in and then calculate how many calories I was burning. I needed to keep track of my weight. I needed to keep track of what I was eating.

Weight and finances have something in common: you must analyze and measure them both to understand where you are, where you are trying to go, how to get there, and when you’ve arrived.

The secret to managing your money is measuring everything, namely how much you make and how much you spend in a given period.

If you have challenges figuring out how to keep more of what you earn, think about it as a reverse diet.

Figure out how much you make. This is your income from your paycheck or your business. But it's also any other income that you may receive such as alimony, contract payments, gifts, rebates, etc.

Here comes the challenging part: figure out how much you’re spending and where. You may be surprised, but this is absolutely key for getting a good grasp on your finances, finding places to save, and ultimately keeping more of what you earn. Once you learn to manage your money properly, the steps for doing so will become second nature.

If you aren’t already doing this, I promise that you will be surprised by the positive benefits of this exercise. Not sure how to get started? Download my free money guide, 8 Powerful Strategies to Boost Your Cash Flow. It has a chart and an exercise sheet to help you determine how much you’re spending each month and ultimately help you manage your money better.

Let me know how it worked out for you. Found some places to save? Didn’t realize how much you were spending on dining out? Have some great tips on how to manage your money? I want to hear about it in the comments.

Miranda Reiter is a certified financial planner and founder of She & Money Financial Planning. She helps women develop a game plan for financial success so that they can stop feeling broke, meet their goals, and live the life they truly deserve. Connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, or Google +.