Be your own accountant - tracking your expenditure

If you have ever been part of a weight loss program or ever tried to lose weight, then you know that the one fact majority of these programs agree on is that writing down everything that goes into your mouth makes you accountable.  I have found that the same is true for managing your spending. Regardless of whether you are an overworked and underpaid student, or a young professional earning an entry-level salary, it is never too early to create a budget for yourself.

When I first started trying to manage my money, I scoured the internet for everything I could find on budgeting. Before you can start saving and investing, you need to know what your monthly expenditure looks like. Below is a synthesis of all the information I could find.  Remember that this is meant to be a discussion, so please feel free to jump in with your ideas and experiences via the comment section.

1. For the first month, write down every single thing you spend your money on, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant. Everything. For example, if you spent money on an entrance fee for a club one Saturday night, write that down, as well as money you spent on paying your electricity bill. This is to give you an idea of what you are spending your money on, and how much you are spending.
2. At the end of the first month, group your expenses into categories.  For example, money spent on clubbing falls into entertainment, while money spent on paying your electricity bill falls into utilities. Next to each category, write down the total amount you spent in a month on that category.  This way, you have an idea of how much money you spend monthly on each category.
3. Compare your monthly income (that is, whatever your take-home is AFTER taxes) to your total monthly expenditure.  If you are in the negative, or you are spending more than 90% of your monthly take-home, then it is time to seriously tighten your belt. 
4. Look at your categories and how much you are spending. Which areas can you cut down on? Caution: Do not completely eliminate areas such as entertainment, as the idea is to live life within your means, and not to turn yourself into a hermit.
5. Once you have reached a final decision on what to cut down on, re-assign new amounts to your categories.
6. For the next month, try to spend only what you have assigned yourself for each category.  If you are an African woman in the diaspora, it helps to carry cash rather than use a visa debit card as it makes you more aware of your spending. Another trick is to carry only a specific amount of cash on your person when going out with friends. That way, there is no way you will overspend as you simply do not have the money.
7. In the third month, re-evaluate your budget and make adjustments to how much you can spend on each category based on your experience from the previous month. Do not make adjustments to your budget simply because you do not have self-control - that defeats the whole purpose.
8. Once you have your final budget, this is what you should follow, until you get a salary increase, etc. that will allow you to re-evaluate.