Yes, EVM (Earned Value Management) is tough and I rarely see organizations following it as taught by PMI since there is not a lot of info on it and the terminology can confuse executives.  

Key thing is to ensure you can follow the basic concepts of EVM.  Every PM should be able to answer these questions at any time (have the answers in your back pocket).  If you don't have a software that helps manage this, then create an excel spreadsheet and collect, track, monitor, trend and forecast this valuable data.

EVM questions include:
Question
EVM formula utilized
1)     Are we ahead or behind schedule?
1)     Schedule Variance (SV)
2)     How efficiently are we using time?
2)     Schedule Performance Index (SPI)
3)     When are we likely to finish work?
3)     Time Estimate at Completion (EACt)
4)     Are we under or over our budget?
4)     Cost Variance (CV)
5)     How efficiently are we using our resources?
5)     Cost Performance Index (CPI)
6)     What is the project likely to cost?
6)     Cost Estimate at Completion (EAC)
7)     Will we be under or over budget?
7)     Variance at Completion (VAC)
8)     What will the remaining work cost?
8)     Estimate to Complete (ETC)

Then also, start to use the formula SV = Planned Time (PT) minus Elapsed Time (ET), then this can help when you are more focused on time vs money.

 A good link that I like that has a lot of detail is:
http://energy.gov/management/office-management/operational-management/project-management/earned-value-management