Thinking About A Budget.

I've been reading about these Grocery Bill Challenges on a few blogs recently. I've also been thinking about our own Grocery Budget and while so much food that we consume I earn with Barter through the farms we also live across the street from the IGA. Do you have any idea how easy and convenient it is to live across the street from the IGA? You can just hop over any time you're out of cat food/bread/lemons/dish soap/chocolate/beer/whipping cream/basil/canning jars and while I try to plan ahead as much as possible for our needs and buy things in bulk and eat locally sometimes you can't contend with a quick trip to the IGA. Don't get me wrong, I love the IGA, they do a great job, wonderful people work there and it's a great outing when the girl needs to get out of the house (or I do for that matter). However when you try to stick to any kind-of budget and aren't very good at it you end of spending too much money at the IGA. That goes across the board...

So I guess I'm wondering how to create a budget. How do you make it happen? What are the strategies you use to manage your household finances? How do you walk the line between frugal and realistic? Is there a way to tighten the belt and spend less money while not limiting yourself? Is it a value shift? How do you get the "I Wants" out of your head?