I’m outside Canada/North America for work (developing country). Live & work in the same compound so daily transport/commute is a non-issue:

Rent: $500/month (furnished, studio apartment)

Utilities: Free (electricity, water, mobile/phone, DSTV, wifi).

Food: $700/month (I can’t do much about this, we pay for shared dining/food service and I supplement because what we pay for still isn’t very good).

Transport: $90/month (total taxi charges)

Insurance: $500/month (life & medical through work/mandatory, comprehensive)

Misc: $500/month (movies, books, clothes, dining out, etc.)

Air travel: $500/month (expense is every other month, this is average/monthly cost)

Expenses work out to about 25% of my salary in a given month. What isn’t paid in cash I put on my credit card. When I get my salary, pay off the credit card first, the rest goes into investments.

My 'budget' is putting the same amount of cash in my wallet at the start of each month and sticking to that (credit card is just for things that can’t be cash, like air travel).