When my husband and I started working on a budget, 8 years ago, we were determined to make it work. We sat down with our bills spread before us and plopped the numbers on paper.
But as far as budgets go, we would have had just as much success if we had thrown them in the air and thrown darts at them while blindfolded.
Our budget was doomed because we weren't realistic about it. We shrunk a number here… inflated a number there… and then wondered why we could never stick to it. We'd revise it the next month and run into the same problem. Miraculously, we were somehow able to get ourselves out of debt using that budget. But it was painful and a lot harder than it needed to be.
There are several forms that have been created to help with cash flow plans. They are manageable and designed to help you identify problem areas. A few are available for download at DaveRamsey.com. (I have also included links to a site that has the remaining documents provided for download.) Print them off and determine that they will be your best friend from here on out.
Before we start - remember, it may take a few months of tweaking until you get this figured out and realize the bad spending habits you may have fallen into.
To start, complete the whole set of forms. After the initial month, you'll only need to work on the Monthly Cash Flow Plan (form 5) and the Allocated Spending Plan (form 7) or the Irregular Income Plan (form 
once a month. Once you get in the habit of filling in the form, it should only take you about 30 minutes/month.
It is also recommended that you update the whole set of forms once a year or whenever you experience a dramatic positive or negative financial event (such as receiving a large inheritance or paying for a major house repair).
The forms to fill in are: (I've included any necessary notes to consider about each)
Major Components of a Healthy Financial Plan (this is your commitment sheet and allows you to organize your plan on paper.)
Income Sources (Fill in salary amounts with take home pay amount/after taxes)
Lump Sum Payment Planning (Payments made on a non-monthly basis, such as insurance premiums and taxes. These will ruin your budget if you do not plan for them. Get the total amount and then divide by 12 to break it down to a monthly amount. This will allow you to save the money needed for these each month.)
Monthly Cash Flow Plan (This will take a bit of instruction, which I will do in the forums. But the gist of it is to have every single dollar allocated to some category on this form. At the end, the total income minus expenses should be zero. Do not leave anything off of this list. If you do, it will throw the plan off. It is a really long form, but it covers just about any expense you can think of. You won't fill in every line. You'll notice that there is an "actually spent" column. Do not ignore this spot. Fill it in and make adjustment to the plan the next month based on these amounts. You will also notice an asterisk by certain items. These are things that you should use the envelope system, which will be discussed in the forum over the weekend.)
Recommended Percentages (compare your actual % take home pay amount on the monthly cash flow plan with the amounts given on this sheet.)
Allocated Spending Plan (this breaks down the month even more by breaking it into allocated amounts from each pay period. If you have an irregular income use the Irregular Income Planning sheet instead of this. Asterisk indicates the use of the envelope system. This form is very thorough and can look complicated at first with all of its slashes and lines, so I will also discuss this in the forum.)
Irregular Income Planning (If you have an irregular income use this instead of the Allocated Spending Plan.
Breakdown of Savings (savings amounts need to be allocated and spent on paper as well, in order for your savings plan to work)
This seems like a lot.
It is.
But the payoffs are huge. And once you've taken the time to do the initial work to set it up, you are on your way.
Remember to join me at the Blissfully Domestic Living forum to discuss this all in more detail.
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Excellent post, Karla. I like the Irregular income planning tool. Most budget plans don't address that at all.