To do your own calculations, make columns on paper and list at the top of each column the budget categories that apply to you.

Your budget categories might include mortgage, rent, food, utilities, gasoline, insurance, credit card payments, installment loans, repairs, clothing, medical, personal and beauty care, books and magazines, entertainment, gifts, charity, hobby expenses, taxes, miscellaneous, and savings and investments. To this list add budget categories that are uniquely yours.

Then go through your checkbook for the past year and list each check in its proper column. Add each column, and you will have a summary of your spending by category for the past year.

If you have kept your credit card bills, put each credit card charge into a category, instead of lumping your entire payments under “credit card payments.” Although this may, at first glance, seem like a demanding task, you will be surprised to find that most of your charges fall into just a few major categories, such as dining out, clothing, and so on, and so the monthly bill can be categorized easily.