In a pamphlet called "One for the Money: Guide to Family Finance" by Elder Marvin J. Ashton, he advises, "Use a budget" (p. 6).  My husband and I have almost been married for 3 months.  Over Memorial Day weekend, we went home and asked my parents to help us create a budget.  Now I am realizing how hard it is to stick to the budget.  Little things happen that are expensive, such as the printer needing a new cartridge, which we hadn't planned for.  Plus, sometimes groceries seem to add up faster than you would think.  All in all, this first month with a budget has been somewhat difficult.  I have done better at staying within the food budget.  But, to prevent us from going over budget next month, we are going to try to just spend cash; as my parents always said, "when it runs out, it runs out."  Hopefully this strategy will work better for us.  My parents said they tried it when they were first married, and I think my mom still tries to stick to the cash principle somewhat today.