NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) - Now is a great time to develop a serious budgeting habit. The next year might bring changes to your annual income and you should look at your finances now so that you are prepared for them. A nation can run deficits; households should avoid them. People without budgets are more likely to fall into debt - and anxiety. But search for "how to create a budget" and most results are inadequate. Much advice focuses on those with low or no incomes, ignoring other barriers to budgeting such as unexpected layoffs and expenses. And almost everyone underestimates the rewards of budgeting. Budgeting takes effort and psychological steel. A personal budget will not give you immediate gratification. It will not get you more money. But a budget will give you power. That is the main payoff for the tedious trouble of maintaining a budget. Lots of Internet applications offer tips and motivation (for example, Debt.org and The Balance) but I suggest budgeting free-hand. I started my budget with a piece of paper, a cup of coffee and some optimism. I eventually migrated it to my own Excel spreadsheet. You may be starting with debt hanging over your head. Put that debt, along with sa...