I personally don’t do much budgeting or spend time on it. The only thing I deliberately budget is probably my amounts to be invested/saved.
- I calculate the - as you call it - “mandatory things”. At most once a year. Every 2 or 3 years is probably enough, unless your circumstances change significantly. With only a small margin for additional expenses.
- Then I budget an amount that I want to invest/save every month. This gets transferred out of my current account as soon as I receive my wage.
- Everything else gets paid through me credit card (even the mobile phone bills now).
- Comparing my monthly credit card statement to my bank account balance provides instant feedback. I am paying my credit card bill in full every month. As long as I can do this without my current account going into the red, I know that my budgeting for the month has worked out.
- Any remaining balance will get saved as well. My bank account will pretty much be at zero before payday.