I just pay off my credit card each week (at least), and I pay it off by category (so I make multiple payments, one for all the grocery charges, one for gasoline, one for personal, etc). This allows me to keep track of where I'm at each month. I use an excel file to track my budget, so I download our bank account, transfer any new charges over, and then categorize each charge. I also added a column for month, so even if I pay something off the beginning of November, I can categorize it as a "October 2016) charge.
That said, I also keep track of the annual spend. Some of my categories (like car insurance) aren't paid monthly, but I budget for it monthly. Thus, in a given month I may spend less or more than I made that month depending on what charges hit (this is mostly car insurance, home renovations, and vacations).