Monthly Budgeting Basics

Track every expense for one full month before making any changes. You cannot fix a budget you don't actually understand yet.

A simple starting split is 50 percent of income on needs (rent, groceries, utilities), 30 percent on wants (eating out, hobbies, subscriptions), and 20 percent on savings or debt payoff. This is a starting point, not a rule.

Cancel subscriptions you haven't used in the last 60 days. Recurring charges are the easiest budget leak to miss, because they never show up as one big, noticeable expense.
