Simple Monthly Budget

Budgeting is overwhelming, it’s a fact. Math, unexpected costs, payment adjustments, and more make each month a different adventure in the wonderful world of figuring out if you’re eating ramen noodles or steak for dinner. The Simple Monthly Budget Excel calculator is a great tool to make your month-by-month budget easier to handle and track.

How to use the Simple Monthly Budget

Download the one page Excel file using the link below and open it to view a pre-populated sheet to help guide you.  The first entry you’ll make is the red ribbon on the top portion to the year you’re budgeting for.

Move below and to the right to begin entering your monthly income. This includes everything from job income, to alimony, to bonuses. To the left of the Income column is an auto-generated portion that you don’t need to worry about for now.

Below on the left is the “Monthly Expenses”. Enter in the amounts you pay monthly (estimated or exact, depending on your resources) and add more categories as needed (instructions are located to the left in the Excel document for ease).

To the right of this, a bar graph and balance is calculated to show you the difference and amounts in your income and monthly expenses. Generally, a higher red bar is better. Scroll back to the top and there will be a “Percentage of Monthly Income Spent” bar that shows how much you are spending. The summary below is the same as the bar graphs.

Tips on using the Simple Excel Monthly Budget

• Create a new template for each month if your expenses change frequently. There’s no reason to mess up your budget by following an old version.
• Adjust your expenses as needed. If your leftover balance is especially low and you want to start saving, look at your expenses and find places you can cut back on. Or, look into more income options.
• Estimation on expenses and income are ok for the first month or two, but try to put the exact amounts as the months go on. This will make your data more accurate.

Download: Simple Monthly Budget Template

Template courtesy of Template