Everyone wants to be debt-free. To stay happy and not to spend above your budget you need to have a budget planner in place. Using a budgeting-planner will aid you in getting more control over your finances.
Many people still wonder how to budget money. After reading this post you will get a fair idea about how to make a budget and how can you use a budget planner. There are also a few budgeting tips mentioned.
Using a budget planner will definitely make it easier for you to calculate your budgets and your life will be simplified. You can also make a printable budget planner.
The budget planner is extremely useful in family budgeting. You can make a month – by- month budget by filling in all your expenses in the budget planner. Making a budget plan worksheet is the first step towards budgeting.
Where to start with your budget planner
Let’s face it, starting a budget is overwhelming. So knowing where to start putting your budget planner together is important. There are a few things you want to consider when putting your budget together that we’ll get into more detail later. They are:
- Calculating expenses
- Unexpected expenses
- Prioritizing your expenses
- Budgeting your expenses
To make that happen you need a budget planner that works for you. I’ve put together a free mini-budget planner that will do just that. You can click the image below to grab that.
How to set up a budget planner
Calculate expenses:
It is important to find out how much you spend each month. You can do this by referring to your bank statement, financial files, and receipts. Expenses like insurance payments are intermittent and you will get a clear and accurate picture only if you compute an average for about six months to twelve months. Sum up all that you have spent in the last six to twelve months and divide the total by the number of months. The obtained value is your average monthly expenses.
It is paramount to add each and every expense to get a budget that is realistic. Even if you forget a single bill the savings plan which is made will not be practical. If you are under debt, you should calculate the debt load that you have. Keep a track on the process of debt reduction and each month, make a note of your new debt number and how much has been paid off.
Unexpected expenses:
It is essential for you to include an exigency fund while calculating the monthly budget. This can be done by adding an extra 10% to 15% to your monthly budget. This is one of the top ways to stay away from debt. You should make sure that this extra money is added every month. This money can be used for any unexpected expense such as unintended car repairs.
Expense prioritizing:
If you are in a financial crisis or if you have an income that is irregular, you might not be able to pay all the bills at once. In such a situation you need to prioritize your expenses and decide which bill to be paid first and which ones can be paid later. If you have planned this in advance, you can use the limited money you have in the most effective way.
Meal plan:
If you have a weekly meal plan you can save a lot of money. Make a weekly meal plan to save stress and time, you will order food or eat out rarely and the groceries will be low-priced. You can do this using a budget planner.
Budget every month:
This is useful for family budgeting as well as if you are single.
There is an easy way to do this:
- Write your income in the budget planner.
- Classify all of your expenses.
- From your income minus each expense
- Once you finish subtracting all the expenses, you should either have some money left or the final value should be a zero.
- Cut down on your expenses if you are overspending. This will keep you debt-free.
Progress tracking and bill scheduling:
When you are budgeting with the budget planner it is important to schedule your bills each month and also setting goals every month. If you have an intention to spend money as budgeted and get goals accordingly you will achieve it eventually. Tracking your progress monthly will help you have a control over your expenses.
Be realistic:
If you stick to your budget you will reach your goals (financial). It is fine to break your budget sporadically, but sticking to your budget most of the time will aid you to be debt-free and to save some extra money.
It is pivotal to learn how to set a budget which will make your life stress free. The easiest way to do it is by using a budget planner. By doing this you can stay organized and save time. Set up your budget planner once and you can have the lifelong financial success.
Click the image below to download the free mini-budget planner to help you create a budget that you can stick to.
I’m not over all the most organized person-some spots in my life I can definitely do better. Hubby on the other hand lives for budget sheets like this-that why he handles the bills =D
Nice! Thanks for sharing.
I LOVE THIS!!!!!!! Thank you!!!!
Thank you.
I need to create a Bill Paying spreadsheet. So smart!
Good luck!
This is awesome. I love spreadsheets because they are so efficient. I love how easy your budgeting spreadsheet is to use and follow, I also like that you can compare your numbers from year to year. http://www.thebusinessref.com
Thank you!
We started using a budget for our household about a year ago and it’s been incredibly helpful…life changing, in fact. We use mint.com combined with a similar spreadsheet system. Thanks for sharing your expertise so others can be more aware of how their managing their finances…
I’ve heard some wonderful things about mint! Thank you so much.
I love using Excel. I use Excel for my budgeting too but I use it mainly for projecting and estimating my future savings based on my spending habits.
That is wonderful. Excel is such a wonderful tool! Thank you.
This is awesome. My husband would love you. He makes excel spreadsheet just for funsies. I really really need to learn how to do this.
LOL Mine does the same thing. His love of spreadsheets has really rubbed off. Thank you.
This is great! I’ve been pretty good with my budget, but we just moved and have more expenses now. I’ve been wanting to lay it out in a spreadsheet for a while now. Thanks for the motivation to get it done!
Of course, good luck!!
I use an app called YNAB (You need a budget) to plan and track my budget (it’s super easy to use!). A few years back, I used to write my monthly budget and everything I spend, but soon it got out of hand. This spreadsheet would’ve been handy back in those days.
I’ve heard of YNAB, such a great tool for tracking. Thanks!
We have a family budget and I just started using on line bill pay which saves me time and stress.
That’s wonderful.
I really really really need to do this. I’m HORRIBLE at getting things paid on time and getting stuff done-and I need to do something or I’m going to really mess up my credit again… Thanks for sharing!
Of course. I sure do hope this helps!
This is so perfect, thank you! I’m having trouble downloading the file though it’s asking me to sign into my google account and get permission. I’ll try again later 🙂
xoxo, Sam | thehauntedhousewife.com
The spreadsheet is through google sheets. It was the easiest way for me to share it. Please let me know if you have any problems and I can email you the direct file. Thanks!
I’m glad I came across this post when I did. I’m trying to come up with my budget and organize it as best as I can. Spreadsheets kind of make me nervous, haha! Your post has made me feel SO MUCH better about tackling them.
Thank you so much! I hope it helps!!!
It is so perfect, and thanks for your share
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Thank you.
I put in my email address twice and I haven’t received an email. How long does it normally take?
Have you check your junk folder? It shouldn’t take any longer than 15 minutes. Send me an email at jenn@homebyjenn.com and I’ll get you all set up!