Build Your First Monthly Budget From Scratch

You have never made a budget stick, and you genuinely do not know where the money goes each month. This builds one from scratch around your take-home pay, mapping the spending you cannot see and setting a structure you can actually keep. It suits first-time budgeters and lapsed ones. You finish with a clear picture and a plan that survives past payday.

<context>
You have never built a budget before or your previous attempts have not stuck. Your monthly take-home income is approximately {MONTHLY_INCOME}. You have a rough sense of your major expenses but no clear picture of where your money goes. Your main financial concern is [describe: e.g. living paycheck to paycheck / wanting to save but not knowing where to start / building an emergency fund].
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<task>
**Build your first working monthly budget** using the 50/30/20 framework as a starting point:
1. Calculate your net income and map every regular outgoing
2. Categorise spending into needs (50%), wants (30%), and savings/debt (20%)
3. Identify the top 3 spending areas where you are overspending relative to the framework
4. Recommend one free or low-cost tool to track spending automatically
5. Design a monthly budget review ritual: a 15-minute monthly check-in to stay on track
</task>

<output_format>
- Budget template (table: Category | Monthly amount | % of income | Framework target % | Gap)
- Top 3 overspending areas with specific reduction suggestions
- Tool recommendation with one-line rationale
- Monthly review ritual (5 steps, under 15 minutes total)
</output_format>