First off, I like the word budget. I don’t call it a “spending plan” because that’s not what it is. You account for both income and expenses in a budget. And this is my website, so I can call it whatever I want. Bwahaha!
Anyway, creating your first budget is going to require a bit of patience and organization. First you want to gather as much information as you can about your past expenses. If you pay all of your bills online, this should be relatively easy. Or if you use the carbon copy checks, have those out too. I’m a big fan of online banking, so go ahead and get all that up on your screen also.
I’m a serious number nerd, so I love spreadsheets because I know how to manipulate them to show me what I want. If you’re not so great with Excel, just use some notebook paper and a pencil. Now the easy part is putting your income up at the top of your spreadsheet or work paper. Make sure you use your NET PAY so you don’t think you have more money than you really do.
Now for the scary part, the expenses! Here’s a template you can use if you like spreadsheets.
I like this one because it has two columns, one for projected and one for actual income and expenses. Its in a nice one page format also, so you can post it on the fridge easily 
If you’re going the manual route, you can print this out and pencil in your numbers. Since it accounts for taxes and health insurance, you’ll want to use your gross pay up top. There are some numbers already filled in, so make sure to delete those.
Now, its going to take a few months to get used to this, but trust me, once you see where all your money is going, you will feel more in control and like you can actually do something to change it. When your money just magically disappears out of your checking account every month, don’t you feel confused and somewhat helpless? Then you get mad at yourself for not taking charge of your finances. It always ends with something negative. You might buy stupid stuff like I used to do to make myself feel better, only furthering the money woes.
Don’t give up, you now have the power to put yourself on a positive financial path. Just give it some time, and you will begin to see what you need to do to make it happen, cap’n!