"We should make a budget" is one of those phrases people say and never act on, because it seems complicated. In reality it takes four steps and half an hour of your time. Here's where to start.
Step 1 — Map your income
Write down how much comes in each month, net: salaries, any recurring extra income. If there are two of you, add the two incomes: a household budget works on the household total.
Step 2 — List your outgoings (all of them)
Look at the last 2-3 months of your bank statement and group expenses by category: housing, bills, groceries, transport, subscriptions, restaurants, leisure. Almost everyone, on the first pass, discovers outgoings they hadn't realised — usually forgotten subscriptions and frequent "small" expenses.
Step 3 — Cap your categories
For each category set a reasonable monthly limit. A handy starting point is the 50/30/20 rule: half your income to needs, 30% to wants, 20% to savings. It doesn't have to be perfect: it just helps you see where you're out of balance.
Step 4 — Decide how much to save, before you spend
The classic mistake is to save "whatever is left" — and usually nothing is left. Flip the logic: decide the amount to set aside at the start of the month, like a fixed expense, and live on the rest.
Step 5 — Update, don't perfect
A budget works if you look at it, not if it's perfect. A few minutes a week to note expenses and a check at month end are enough. Consistency beats precision.
Keeping it all on a spreadsheet is possible, but it gets tedious and you abandon it quickly. TogetherExpenses does these steps for you: it records expenses, splits them by category, compares them with 50/30/20 and — if you're a couple — works out each person's fair share. The budget you can actually keep up.