Living off $400 Paychecks Comfortably.

This has been the most ridiculous month according to my bank account ever. It all started with Indiana. I spent more than my allotted "play money" to adopt him. Which meant I had to dig into money that was already spoken for. Most likely with bills. I am a very budgeted person. I use to make $400 every 2 weeks and I was living on my own. My rent was $372 + utilities usually put me at about $415. Half my months money right there! Calculate in food, tuition, gas, phone and everything else and I had pretty much every single penny counted for with every paycheck. I rarely was able to save up enough money to shop or play. That was my choice though. At the time it was very important for me to live on my own not have tons of money for luxuries. Everyone was amazed that I could live on my own with such a tiny paycheck but it really wasn't hard. I just had to learn to budget and have lots of self control. 
I've been complimented on my budgeting skills and since it's pretty much my only skill, I thought I'd share it with the world. 

There are 3 main things to the Miki Budgeting Magic:1. WRITE everything down on a calendar. I use the calendar on my computer, because I look at it everyday. I have bills sorted in the color red and I can sort by that category so it will show me just my bills. Make sure you put every little thing on the calendar. Make sure to set it up if it's recurring. I have on my calendar every 6 months to purchase contacts $138, every year to renew my sirius radio subscription$114 and then the things like credit card payments and my car loan that recur every month. Those annual or semi-annual bills can sneak up on you since you don't have it every month. They are so easy to forget and then they royally mess up your budget. For my calendar I put the amount in the subject so it will say "Student Loan Payment $50" or "Petflow $24.95" (Yes... I have my dog food scheduled and it is delivered to my doorstep. Best invention ever).

2. Check your balances often. Don't be scared of your bank account. Always know how much is in there, and how much is coming out. Even if it's dangerously low don't ignore it. If you have a credit card make sure you're scheduling those payments and you're keeping an eye on the available balance. Those little buggers will get you!
3. Don't be spontaneous with money. Make sure even if you're wanting to go shopping with a friend that you budget it in. Look at your bills coming up before you hop in the car and have a set number. Say to yourself I can only spend $50 today. Then control yourself! Do not go over the limit you set yourself. I always have my "play money" budgeted out. I know that for most months I have about $200 not accounted for. That money is free game for those spontaneous shopping trips or date night. That money is not tied into bills, not the portion going into savings, it's not part of the vacation fund. It's my spontaneous play money. That's what I use to buy puppies or laptops (both of which I did in January) using quite a few months worth of my "play money."
Those are my magic budgeting secrets. When I made practically no money I still lived comfortably because of this technique. I highly suggest it.
Are you a strict budgeter? What are some of your tricks?