I struggled for a long time managing my money. I had cycles where I decided I needed to organize my financial life, then download a software like MoneyLover (Android), and go over the last couple months of my statements to add every purchase to their categories. I would keep adding the expenses for a while, but always ended up stopping to use it.

This december I decided to give YNAB [1] a try.

I was skeptical at first, but now I'm a convert. They have a lot of material on how to budget in a very simple way. But I think the moment their system clicked for me was when I noticed I was using Categories "wrong". Let me give an example.

Say my wife and I go out for dinner and movies. Previously, my expenses would look like:

Transportation - $20

Cinema - $40

Restaurant - $60

The categories are directly tied to what was purchased. That made sense, but this is focusing on the wrong level IMHO. It's not what was purchased, but why? With YNAB, my expenses look like:

Date Night - $120

The important isn't where the money was spent, but the reason you spent it. Paying a taxi to go to work is different than paying a taxi to go on a date.

This seemingly simple difference changed the way I view my budget. The categories are meaningful for me, and not just the standard "Groceries", "Transportation", "Rent", etc.

I have been using it just for one month, but I love it! I highly recommend you to give it a try.

[1] https://youneedabudget.com