This is how I do my budget, based on what I learned from The Empress of All Jackets, Suze Orman.
After an item has cleared my bank account, I shade it in red (because I expect there to be a lot of it, and I like red). Where you see a yellow line, it means that bill no longer exists for me.
Underneath the totals are smaller items that I note at the beginning of the year, such as birthdays that I plan to stick to a budget for but seldom do.
I don’t include incidentals such as gasoline and groceries and shoes because if or when I run out of money, I stop buying things, no matter how miserable it makes me.
I look at the two-week period before payday, each payday, so I can plan for the short term, and at the whole thing at the same time, so I can plan for the long term. I do not include savings here because that money is removed before I can ever get my greasy little mitts on it.
So, there it is. That’s how I budget. It’s pretty rudimentary, but I don’t need anything more complicated for my purposes.
Or, at least, that’s most of the year. It’s probably much more exciting than you ever dreamed possible.
Just like a Slattery 
if you want to make some extra $….please help me get to a point I will publish my budget? I think my budget is small, though I don’t really know what it is. I am not a spender–though—meaning I don’t buy fancy pesto, shoes, or lingerie–but I do want the trim painted the correct color on my windowsills and I like to buy the right kind of vodka when imbibers come over for supper. help, please.
Well, first you have to figure what’s stopping you from doing it. What’s stopping you?
I don’t spend a lot of money, either, but I spend like you do. And I suspect we both are people who take care of things.
Which book(s) of Suze’s did you read? This budgeting method seems simple yet smart.
Well, I read several of them, but the one germane to my life at this time is 9 Steps to Financial Freedom.
It really will help if you figure out exactly where your money is going first, which you might enjoy spending some time doing. It’s kind of tedious and plodding, but I like numbers and data and knowing I can make them behave. I can tell you more about that if you like.
I do need to buckle down and really chart my numbers. For a while, it all just worked, but it is slipping in the last year. I will definitely pick up one of her books and get cracking.
I would like to hear more from you about this topic.