Navigating your budget solo when you have only one stream of income can be tricky and hard. You most likely have same financial commitments and goals like families of two or more working adults, so you have to be sensible, resourceful and sometimes frugal. Sometimes you need extra tools that would help you be on top and ahead of your money related goals, and one of those tools can be a simple notebook, where you would record your income and expenses. This is something I used to do back in the day, when I was struggling to keep track of my money flow (a.k.a. too much shopping). On payday I would write down how much I got paid, I would make a list of fixed expenses (that's monthly bills), subtract them from my salary and I would know exactly how much money I had left to play with on that month. Every time I had expenses or extra income, I would either subtract it or add it on. I would never check my bank account, as what was in my bank account was not a reflection of my spending budget - I had direct debit payments spread all over the month. This kind of journaling does not work if you want to save money on your goal, but it will help you keep track of your finances.
If you want a more structured notebook, try kakeibo method. This is something I am using at the moment. Kakeibo is a Japanese art of budgeting and saving money. This budgeting method was introduced by the first Japanese female journalist Hani Motoko in 1904 and this concept is very popular in Japan even now. Kakeibo can be devided into three stages: planning, tracking and reviewing. In planning stage, you have to do a simple equation:
Total Income (salary, benefits, etc.) - Fixed Expenses (bills, subscriptions, payment installments, etc.) - Savings (how much you would like to save) = Spending budget (how much you can spend).
Now that you have your monthly spending budget, you spread it over 4-5 weeks (depending how long the month is) and you have week's total budget. If you are serious about saving, my advice is to stick to your weekly budget and even push your limits to spend less. Every time you have expenses, do not forget to record it on expenses pages of the planner - whether you spend 50 pence or 50 pounds, every penny needs to be recorded. If you are paying cash, do not forget to keep a receipt for later. I draw a line after every week and circle the running total after each week, so I know whether I am in the green or in the red, and whether I need to rethink my spending habits for the following week. Kakeibo also advises to categorise your expenses into four categories: needs, wants, culture and other. If at the end of the month you go over your spending budget and you do not manage to save the amount you planned, wants, culture and other are the categories you may want to review.
The last section of kakeibo planner is dedicated to reflection. Here you calculate how much money you spent for each category, you calculate your total income, expenses and savings, and you make improvement plan for the next month.
Saving is never easy, but it is very important to be prepared financially for unexpected life events. If you do not have savings and you have not started working on it yet, start doing it right this moment - there is no better time than now.