Look up or print our your last 3 months worth of bank statements. Go through every single transaction and determine which category each transaction falls into. Then, add up the total of each category and divide it by three to get the average spent in each category over the last three months.
Next, determine where you need to cut back. If you are struggling to make ends meet or spending more than you make every month, look at the categories you feel are the least essential and where your spending is the least controlled. Typically, you’ll be able to make big cuts in your restaurant, personal spending, groceries, entertainment, and miscellaneous categories. Try cutting back at least 10% in each one and setting that as your new budget. Don’t be afraid to cut back more if you know you’re spending way too much.
Now you have a budget set up with all the categories you’ll need, and you’ve made a plan to cut back a bit going forward! Great job.