How do you manage your finances?

[elena2]

It's (one of) my New Year's Resolutions to get in control of my finances this year and stay that way.

I am absolutely hopeless with this kind of thing, and always tend to run out of money well before the month is over!

We have no kind of system to plan how our money will be spent or how we will budget for the month ahead, and I've had enough of the lack of control and getting nasty shocks when I go to the cash machine!

How does anyone else keep track of where their money goes? Do you plan in advance how much you will spend on groceries, eating out, etc?

I am terrible at this. I don't even know what things costs in the supermarket. I just pick things up and sign on the line without ever checking the amount. I could never tell you the price of nappies or a pint of milk. My DH, on the other hand, keeps a spreadsheet like others have suggested. He pays the bills once a month.