What is the easiest way to maintain a personal financial budget? -

I have a problem keeping a budget for myself, and get into wasteful spending practices quite often. I earn decent money, and have money saved up, but realize that I could be doing better financially if I was a little more disciplined, and stopped buying things on impulse or wasting money on things I dont really need(ex. daily Starbucks). I have made budgets in the past, but usually don t stick with them. I was just wondering if anyone had any tips on maintaining a budget, that is easy to adhere to? Thanks.|::::|You need a software package called Microsoft Money. You might be able to find an old version for free on the net. It will show you pie charts and graphs on where your money is going. I trying to save 5% more this year. The best part, it keeps track of my checking account balance. Most people don t do that - they just look online. You can set up reminders of when bills are due. Another best part - it lets you set up a budget - I don t do that part - since I m more focused on a savings goal. Some people are budget oriented, I m savings oriented. /|::::|Judy has an excellent suggestion. However, I would look at a free online personal budget program. There are two good ones I know of: Quicken (www.quickenonline.com) and Mint (www.mint.com). As I mentioned, both are free, allow you to link accounts (bank, credit card, loans, investment) and download transactions automatically, set your monthly budget categories and show your spending history trends amongst different categories. I have used both, but prefer Mint slightly more.