Whats the best way to budget?

These apps and sheets make it harder than it is,,
Here is the down and dirty, but idiot proof budget tool.FREE!!!!!
Divide your weekly income into three piles. 80% 10% and 10%
Direct the 2 lots of 10% into separate accounts, before you even see it if possible. Now, live on the 80%. No ifs, no buts , no credit cards. Cut out what you cant afford.
One of the 10% accounts is an emergency fund. (A new pair of shoes is NOT an emergency.. A broken fridge is, a busted TV is borderline.)
And the other account is saving and or investments.. I would stick with savings right now if I were you.
Is this easy? No.. But it will never get any simpler or cheaper.

A friend of mine was able to pay off his vehicles, credit cards and his mortgage by using the Dave Ramsey method. They had envelopes with cash in it for various things for years. Anything beyond that, they couldn't spend. So for instance, you might have an envelope for groceries, and another one for Entertainment, etc. You might be able to find the Dave Ramsey method on YouTube

https://www.daveramsey.com/

But watch out! He'll challenge your thinking! I haven't had a credit card or car payment in 5 years. Oh... and I've already got more money in my retirement account than the average person twice my age.

I don't think apps could help you budget your money. It all comes down to how well you can control your spending and what needs to be bought or not. Discipline.

Me I use a spread sheet, simple to set up.
All regular Expences in one colum, rent utilities, car petrol, food etc.
The income in a parallel column with the total of expenditure and income in line.
This way it is easy to see exactly what is left, under that total you can add in other expences as you outlay them, careful budgeting is eccential to a happy life.
If your expenditure is greater than your income the talk with all involved on how to balance them out.
Ideally have some saving for emergencies
Hopefully some use to you

I use a simple spreadsheet. I list all the days of the month, when the bills are due and how much, all my other routine expenses (on approximate days I will expend the money), add savings, add it all up, and whatever is left, I divide by the number of days in that month. That way I know how much I can spend per day outside my bills, gas, groceries, etc. Savings though is really important. Without building a savings account, any emergency destroys your budget.

appoint me as your head of the economy

Take your funds. Subtract bills and other living expenses. Consider all essentials. Food, drink, soap, toilet paper, etc. What ever is left, take 60-70% of that and put it in a savings account. Burn the rest.

I use an Excel spreadsheet for almost 20 years so I have to work it and understand what I am doing with my money and where it is going

I use a rather complicated one on an Excel sheet I wrote, but it's integration is limited.

Don’t buy anything that isn’t essential to feed you or keep a roof overhead

I'd a pen and paper a app?

Not to buy anything

'mint' by intuit. the free app is awesome