You can use a simple pen and paper but it is much easier to use a spreadsheet program or a simple accounting program if you have access to one.  You can find sample budget worksheets from Kiplinger here. Calculations in a simple accounting program, such as Quicken, are virtually automated, as they are made for this type of project. This type of program also has additional features that may come in handy for formulating budget, such as savings tools. However, they are not free, so you will need to invest a little bit of money in order to use one of them.  Many spreadsheet programs come with a built-in template for calculating a household budget. They will need to be customized for your specific needs but will be easier than starting from scratch. You can also use electronic budgeting software, such as Mint.com, which will help you keep track of your spending. Work from left to right. Use titles for columns such as "Date of Expense", "Amount of Expense", "Payment Method", and "Fixed/Discretionary".   You need to record in a disciplined way (every day or every week) all of your expenses, as well as your income. Many software programs and apps have mobile apps where you can add your expenses on the go. The Payment Method column will help you to keep track of where records of your expenses can be found. For example, if you pay your electric bills with a credit card every month to earn miles, note that as the payment method in the column. Each entry should go into a category so you can easily see how much you spend on monthly and yearly bills, regular essentials, and discretionary costs. This will help you when you go to input your expenses and when you want to look through them for a specific expenditure. Common categories include: Rent/Mortgage (make sure to include any insurance) Utilities, such as electricity, gas, and water Household Operations, such as lawn or maid service Transportation (car, gas, public transport costs, insurance) Groceries and other food (eating out) Using a software program to do this has the added benefit of being able to easily categorize the type is spending (groceries, gas, utilities, car, insurance etc) as well as calculating totals in different ways that are useful to understand what, when, where, how much and how (credit card, cash, etc) you spend. Software will also allow you to divide your spending into different time periods and priorities. If you are using a paper ledger, you may want to create a separate page for each of these categories, depending on how many expenses you have in each category every month. If you are using software you will be able to add rows easily to fit all of your expenses in.
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