Getting Finances Done has a very nice write up on zero-based budgeting.
The basic concept here is that, all money coming in will be spent either by ‘actual’ purchases, or on paper. In other words, every penny/paisa/cent should be accounted for on paper. If it goes into savings, or into investment, wherever, it goes on to a spreadsheet row. Total income – total exp = 0 Check out the post here.