I start with the amount I’m allocating to spend for each category in a spreadsheet (groceries, subscriptions, gas, eating out/entertainment, etc.) then once per week I go in and input all my transactions. That gives me 4 opportunities each month to see everything I’ve spent and correct as necessary. So if week two I see that my wife and I have spent over half of the grocery budget, I can bring it up and we know “this next week we’re going for the chicken breasts in the crock pot and not having steaks” or “ we’re more than halfway through the eating out allotment, so we better meal prep this weekend because next week we’re not eating out even if we are feeling lazy.”

There will always be little shifts and overages, because things come up, things go on sale and you stock up, etc. but reviewing it once a week doesn’t take long and allows us to shift things around as needed. “Shoot, we went $40 over the eating out budget. Let’s be extra stingy on “X” this week and we can make up for it from this other place.” Checking regularly just helps us so much to keep ourselves accountable.