How to make a budget spreadsheet?

Asked by: Jerrod Ward MD  |  Last update: March 23, 2024
Score: 4.7/5 (66 votes)

To build a budget spreadsheet, follow these steps:
  1. Choose your software and template.
  2. Calculate your income.
  3. Categorize your expenses.
  4. Decide how often to update your budget.
  5. Enter your numbers.
  6. Maintain and stick to your budget.

How do I make a simple budget spreadsheet?

How to create a budget spreadsheet
  1. Choose a spreadsheet program or template.
  2. Create categories for income and expense items.
  3. Set your budget period (weekly, monthly, etc.).
  4. Enter your numbers and use simple formulas to streamline calculations.
  5. Consider visual aids and other features.

What is the 50 30 20 budget rule?

The 50-30-20 rule recommends putting 50% of your money toward needs, 30% toward wants, and 20% toward savings. The savings category also includes money you will need to realize your future goals. Let's take a closer look at each category.

Does Excel have a budget template?

Creating a budgeting plan for your household can feel overwhelming and hard, but Excel can help you get organized and on track with a variety of free and premium budgeting templates.

How do you make a simple expense spreadsheet?

In short, the steps to create an expense sheet are:
  1. Choose a template or expense-tracking software.
  2. Edit the columns and categories (such as rent or mileage) as needed.
  3. Add itemized expenses with costs.
  4. Add up the total.
  5. Attach or save your corresponding receipts.
  6. Print or email the report.

Excel Budget Template | Automate your budget in 15 minutes

44 related questions found

How do I create a daily income and expenses sheet in Excel?

To calculate a daily budget in Excel, first create a list of all your income and expenses. Then, use the SUM function to add up all your income and expense amounts. Finally, divide your total income by the number of days in your period to get your daily budget.

What are the 5 steps of the budgeting process?

How to create a budget
  • Calculate your net income.
  • List monthly expenses.
  • Label fixed and variable expenses.
  • Determine average monthly costs for each expense.
  • Make adjustments.

How do you budget for beginners?

Start budgeting
  1. Make a list of your values. Write down what matters to you and then put your values in order.
  2. Set your goals.
  3. Determine your income. ...
  4. Determine your expenses. ...
  5. Create your budget. ...
  6. Pay yourself first! ...
  7. Be careful with credit cards. ...
  8. Check back periodically.

What is the best chart for a budget?

If you want to show the composition of your budget by category, you might use a pie chart or a stacked bar chart. If you want to highlight the trends or patterns in your data, you might use a scatter plot or a heat map.

Is there a free budget template?

Google Sheets has plenty of budget templates and spreadsheets to choose from, and unlike Microsoft Office, it's free with your Gmail account.

What is the best way to budget monthly?

50/30/20 rule: One popular rule of thumb for building a budget is the 50/30/20 budget rule, which states that you should allocate 50 percent of your income toward needs, 30 percent toward wants and 20 percent for savings. How you allocate spending within these categories is up to you.

How to budget $4,000 a month?

Applying the 50/30/20 rule would give you a budget of:
  1. 50% for mandatory expenses = $2,000 (0.50 X 4,000 = $2,000)
  2. 30% for wants and discretionary spending = $1,200 (0.30 X 4,000 = $1,200)
  3. 20% for savings and debt repayment = $800 (0.20 X 4,000 = $800)

How do you budget monthly income?

The 50/30/20 rule is an easy budgeting method that can help you to manage your money effectively, simply and sustainably. The basic rule of thumb is to divide your monthly after-tax income into three spending categories: 50% for needs, 30% for wants and 20% for savings or paying off debt.

What should a budget spreadsheet look like?

Your budgeting spreadsheet should include categories for each of your income sources, along with categories for each type of expense you need to track. Add up your income and expenses separately, and then subtract expenses from income to get the difference. You'll also want to create a category for savings.

What is a budget template?

A budget worksheet is a simple spreadsheet or chart where you can record your income, expenses and savings. Using a worksheet to track your finances offers several benefits: It tracks income and expenses in one convenient place.

Where can I make a budget spreadsheet?

There are dozens of tools for making a budget, tracking bank accounts, and creating savings goals. But before you invest in complicated money management tools, it might be better to simply make a budget in Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel. You can create your own free budget template in less than an hour.

What is the easiest budget method?

1. The zero-based budget. The concept of a zero-based budgeting method is simple: Income minus expenses equals zero. This budgeting method is best for people who have a set income each month or can reasonably estimate their monthly income.

Does Google Sheets have a budget template?

Google Sheets has a few free budget template options for budgeting, such as an annual budget template, a monthly budget template, and an expense report.

What does Dave Ramsey recommend for budgeting?

Dave recommends telling every dollar where it should go—before the month begins—using a zero-based budget. This means that your income minus your expenses equals zero. Remember that feeling you had when you found $20 in your old coat pocket? That's the same feeling you'll have when you create (and stick to) a budget.

How do you create a monthly budget for a beginner?

How do you make a budget spreadsheet? Start by determining your take-home (net) income, then take a pulse on your current spending. Finally, apply the 50/30/20 budget principles: 50% toward needs, 30% toward wants and 20% toward savings and debt repayment.

What are 7 steps to a budget made easy?

How to make a budget in 7 steps
  • Figure out your income. Start by making a list of all the money you have coming in each month. ...
  • Map out your expenses. Figure out where your money is going by making a list of your expenses each month. ...
  • Calculate your balance. ...
  • Identify your goals. ...
  • Make a plan. ...
  • Stay on track. ...
  • Talk to an expert.

What budget should always come first?

In a master budget, the sales budget is the first budget prepared. The sales budget sets the foundation for other budgets because it is based on production. Therefore, production is based on forecasted sales.

How do you calculate monthly expenses?

Simply add up all of your monthly fixed expenses, like rent or a mortgage payment, and your variable expenses, such as groceries and gas costs. Also factor in occasional but expected purchases, such as new tires. The resulting amount, assuming you aren't going to debt every month, is your cost of living.

What are the 4 types of expenses?

What are the 4 types of expenses? Broadly speaking, you can split monthly expenses into four different categories: fixed, variable, intermittent and discretionary. Fixed expenses: These remain the same each month. Mortgage payments and auto insurance premiums are examples of fixed expenses.

What are the 3 types of budgets?

There are three types of budgets namely a surplus budget, a balanced budget, and a deficit budget. A financial document that comprises revenue and expenses over a year is the government budget. The annual statement that comprises the estimation of expenses and revenue is called a budget.