We middle class Canada types get sucked dry from every level of government to the tune of 54% of our wages, so there's not much left to budget. That's why I only own one Mercedes, not several. Anyway, my favourite "trick" in budgeting is to make an ANNUAL budget- not weekly or monthly, and try to calculate absolutely everything I can possibly think of that I would spend in a year, because spending is very seasonal in many cases. This is the only way I can truly determine if I'm standing pat, getting behind, or getting ahead (ha! next to impossible in this country.) I also keep a close monthly talley of all my debts every month, so that I can readily see if I'm going more in debt or less in debt each month, and also when I do my annual budget, I can compare my debt total for the current year compared to last year. When I find I'm more in debt, I then take a close look at my spending habits, and try to change them. If I find I'm less in debt, I consider that "getting ahead".

Dave from the North Country