Personal & Lifestyle
Monthly Budget Templates
A budget on paper works because it is slow. Writing each figure takes long enough to notice it, which is the part an app that categorises everything automatically quietly removes.
Money in on the left, money out beneath it, and what is left set large at the foot. Type the amounts here or print it blank and fill it in with the bank app open beside you.
Two things sink most budgets: savings treated as whatever is left at the end, and the costs that only come twice a year. Both are dealt with in how to make a monthly budget.
Monthly Budget
Money in
Freelance work
Rent from the flat
45,000
35,000
Money out
Utilities
Groceries
Transport
School fees
Savings
Everything else
18,000
42,000
12,000
30,000
40,000
25,000
Monthly Budget
Money in
Freelance work
Rent from the flat
45,000
35,000
Money out
Utilities
Groceries
Transport
School fees
Savings
Everything else
18,000
42,000
12,000
30,000
40,000
25,000
Monthly Budget
Money in
Freelance work
Rent from the flat
45,000
35,000
Money out
Utilities
Groceries
Transport
School fees
Savings
Everything else
18,000
42,000
12,000
30,000
40,000
25,000
Monthly Budget
Money in
Freelance work
Rent from the flat
45,000
35,000
Money out
Utilities
Groceries
Transport
School fees
Savings
Everything else
18,000
42,000
12,000
30,000
40,000
25,000
Common questions
What should go in the spending list?
Fixed costs first - rent, utilities, fees - then savings, then everything else. Putting savings above "everything else" rather than below it is the single change that makes budgets work.
Should I budget by month or by week?
By month for rent, fees and bills; by week for food and everyday spending, because that is the rhythm you actually shop in. Use the month sheet for the first and a note for the second.
It never balances. What am I doing wrong?
Probably nothing. Most first budgets are missing an irregular cost - a service, a gift, a fee that comes twice a year. Add a line for those and divide the yearly figure by twelve.