Determine what type of problem you are solving. Finite math includes but is not limited to mathematical model building, algebra, linear programming, advanced counting, probability, statistics, logic and discrete mathematics. Discrete mathematics remains the most advanced of the finite math topics as it deals with numbers between numbers.
Set up your problem according to the rules of the medium. This includes adding variables where necessary, entering data points, determining values and choosing a goal.
Decide what you want to solve for. This is important for equations with multiple variables, statistical analysis, budgetary concerns and basic logic. Depending on what you are looking to answer or prove, you need to decide what portion of the problem should be solved first.
Verify you have the information to solve for the variable you have chosen. For example, if you are looking to discover a budgetary constraint in linear programming, you need to be able to isolate a single variable such as percentage of taxation on overall income of the state.
Re-examine the problem if you are missing pieces. Determine if there another way to solve the problem, or look to see if you must solve for something else first. With finite math, there is always an answer. It might not be a number answer, but there is a way to represent with numbers and variables how everything relates to each other.
Solve the problem to a satisfactory completion. This means filling in an exact number or solving for your answer so that with certain other information you could come up with an answer. For example, you can only know the percentage taxation that makes up a total country's income if you know the total income and the total taxation number. So the problem looks like: z = x/y where z = percentage of taxation accounting for income, x = total amount of taxation and y = total of country's income. Now this equation can be used to solve for any country.