It is difficult for most people to make a budget that is consistent from month to month with such uncertainty during the pandemic. I would suggest that you start a monthly budget that includes the income or savings you are using to pay the monthly bills.
A guide to setting up the monthly budget is much like an annual budget. You begin by determining what the income for the month will be or if you have no income how much you are using from other sources such as savings or a loan? You might call that Revenue From All Sources. If the source is from multiple sources list those sources and the dollar amount you are using from each source.
Begin by listing the fixed expenses or those expenses that are fairly constant from month to month. Fixed expenses might be house payment , rent, car payment , credit card payments, utilities (electric, gas utility, water, trash) insurance , etc. Deduct the total of these expenses from the estimated amount of Revenue or Funds you are budgeting for the month. The total available after deducting those expenses will determine how much is available for the variable expenses. If these expenses exceed the amount of funds available. See if there are any fixed expenses that the lender or utility are allowing you to defer or make smaller payments. If you are allowed to adjust the credit card payments down , you may want to only pay the minimum for a couple of months. Some credit card companies are not charging interest for a few months until the pandemic is under control and people are back to work. Some rental property owners are either deferring the rent for a few months or in some cases not charging rent for a couple of months. It is illegal to evict a tenant from public housing during the pandemic, they have not said whether any of that rent will be forgiven after the pandemic is over.
The variable expenses might be gasoline , groceries, pet care, child care, entertainment, etc. Shop around for gasoline, I know here there are a few stations that have gasoline for as much as forty cents less than most of the other stations. There are long lines to the low priced stations but the savings is worth it. Also the town where the gas is sold has an influence on the price. For example the towns of Phoenix,Mesa , and Apache Junction, all have stations that sell gas much higher than driving thirty five miles south to Casa Grande where the price is approximated forty cents cheaper per gallon.
When purchasing groceries watch for sales and days when grocery chains give big discounts. Every Wednesday is seniors day at Koger stores and they take ten per cent off the total bill that day. Meat is so expensive that selective buying is a necessity. Pet groomers vary greatly in what they charge for a grooming. The groomer we are currently using only charges us $30 and she is very good. Some places charge close to $50 or more, Petsmart is an example of a high priced groomer.
Entertainment since people are staying home might be restricted to Netflix or Amazon Prime Video. Comparing satellite TV stations such as Direct and Dish which charge $80 up a month plus the cost of premium movie stations and or sports packages. It is possible in many areas to purchase a good outdoor antenna and get all the local network stations and up to about forty other channels at no cost per month. There is a free movie channel, western tv channel, and channel of old tv programs that you will get for free. If you purchase a Roku for $50 at Walmart and attach it to your TV, or purchase a TV with Roku built in, you have the option of getting other TV services such as Sling. Sling costs $40 a month and we get ESPN, ESPN2, Fox News Network, CNN, MSNBC, and over fifty channels many of which have movies available.
Good Luck in making your financial planning work for you and your family during these difficult times.