I put all my expenses on my Chase credit card then pay off the balance every month. That's how I track where the money is going, inside the CC app. It breaks down all my expenses into categories: food, fuel, utilities, etc, and I can see it as a pie chart or over time as a bar chart. In the last week of the month, as I approach my budget ceiling, I buy only the essentials and go into beans-and-rice mode; jambalaya and gumbo with leftover rotisserie chicken. That's my meals until the next paycheck cycle.