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Hello everyone welcome to my wall. In this Padlet I will be posting about budgeting and sharing resources on how to create a budget, ways to track your budget, how a good budget leads to better spending habits. I will be sharing images, videos, and resource websites to share how to achieve a better financial well-being through budgeting.

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Summary

This image is a template that shows the budget ratio 50:30:20, Needs/Savings/ Wants.  For Needs you think of house-payments, utility bills, food, healthcare and insurance (car and household).  Savings include emergency situations, retirement, high interest savings account and other investments.  Wants this is something that I think most have focused on and now they are in debt.  Going out for meals, gym membership, having a cellphone and personal care all fall under the “Wants” section.  It’s a good image to follow, it spells out the beginning step of creating a reliable budget.

Why I picked this image.

There were a ton of options to choose from I picked this image because it was simple and someone creating a budget for the first time needs guidance.  This image didn’t have a lot in each section most of them didn’t, but for someone who is a beginner with budgeting will find this very helpful.

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Summary

This is a simple template for someone to get started making a personal budget. It lists everything that one has to evaluate to start forming a budget.

Why did I pick this template, well there was a ton to pick from I am trying to keep this wall in simple terms for a beginner so they wont get overwhelmed.

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Summary

This video clearly goes through step by step on how to create a personal budget. It is for beginners, it walks through forming a budget and also shows you how to save.

Why did I pick this video? Simply I am looking for easy to follow videos to aid beginners on forming personal budgets for the first time. It lists everything and it takes the work out for you. If I was a beginner watching this for the first time, I would be able to make my own table for budgeting and I could calculate my numbers and re-evaluate if my information if necessary.

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EASY BUDGETING FOR BEGINNERS | HOW TO BUDGET YOUR MONEY AND SAVE

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Summary

This video goes to the beginning and starts from step 1. There is a free budget spreadsheet in the description of this video. The host goes through creating a budget step by step. Talks about fixed expenses and variable expenses as two types of spending. It is a very easy video to watch would be good for a beginner.

Why I picked this video, The host knows what he is talking about and he is easy to listen too. The host explains everything from step 1 and this would be a perfect video for a person to watch before they even think of creating a budget. The perfect first step of many for a beginner just coming into the budgeting world.

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Budgeting For Beginners | How To Create A Budget From Scratch (2023)

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Summary

This video is from a single mom who talks about budgeting and saving as a single mom with 3 children. This lady runs a YouTube channel called Kelly's Korner and she tells viewers her experience budgeting and being a single mom. She saves money and puts it into her emergency fund, she takes baby steps with her financial situation and makes the the best decisions for her family.

Why I picked this video, single moms have to budget too, what better way to show a single mom how to budget . I know If I was in this situation I would rather listen and learn from another single mom. People learn better from those who are in the same living situation they are.

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HOW I BUDGET AS A SINGLE MOM | HOW TO SAVE MONEY

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Summary

This video is about a family of 4 in Portland Oregon. The couple owns there own home, both parents have jobs, the wife also teaches budgeting too. This mom goes through her family budget for one month.

Why I picked this video is because I wanted to have something on this Padlet about family budgeting. When one thinks of budgeting they are not realizing there are many situations and structures out there and I decided to cover 3 of them with my video section of my Padlet.

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Family of 4 Budget | May 2023 Budget With Me

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Summary

This website is canada.ca which has a budgeting tool on the website to help people form a budget. You get charts and graphs that show you where your money is going, This tool takes the guess work out of forming a budget, its a great place for a beginner to start with.

Why did I pick this website; In my research I was trying to find websites that showed easy steps for beginners to form their own budget. I came across this site by chance and I opened it up and it was full of resources and a good budget tool. I only wish I found this when I first started out.

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The Budget Planner helps you create a customized budget in 3 simple steps. Gather information regarding your income and expenses and get started! If you don't have all your information, you can always save and continue later.

By using this tool and its content, you are agreeing to these terms of use.

Save your budget and continue later via a unique link

Personalize your budget to meet your needs

Make budgeting easier with tips, guidelines and alerts

See charts and comparison to your average Canadian

Get next steps with suggestions and useful links

Earn badges and share your success story

Download a spreadsheet

* The Budget Planner has been developed by FCAC and incorporates in part the Budget Calculator Spreadsheet under license from Credit Counselling Society. All rights reserved.

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budget planning; savings; personal finance; budgets; financial management; banking; personal income

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Create your budget and receive personalized tips and suggestions to improve your financial situation.

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Summary

This website helps you form a household budget and it also provides other templates for you like college and retirement budgets. You are shown on this website how to construct a budget and given some extra templates to choose for every part of life.

Why did I pick this site; Its a good resource that provides templates to use toward every aspect of life, when kids go to college there is a template for that stage. People need a variety of options because each life and family structure is different. Plus this website shows more about budgeting as a household unit rather then individuals.

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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.

Get a lay of the land

The purpose of a household budget is to summarize what you earn against what you spend to help you plan for long and short-term goals. Using a budgeting spreadsheet can help make your financial health a priority by keeping spending in check and savings on the rise!

DIY with the Personal budget template

Prefer to do things yourself? This Excel template can help you track your monthly budget by income and expenses. Input your costs and income, and any difference is calculated automatically so you can avoid shortfalls or make plans for any projected surpluses. Compare projected costs with actual costs to hone your budgeting skills over time.

> Get this personal budget template

Tip: Track monthly expenses
Utilities, credit cards, and insurance are billed monthly, so the easiest way to keep an eye on expenses is to determine how much you spend on a monthly basis.

Don't forget the "extras"

Beyond your electric bill, do you have a movie or game subscription? What about a gym membership? Be sure to keep track of those, too.

Tip: Pay attention to variable expenses
While gas and phone bills generally don't vary in amount month over month, other expenses, such as dining out or clothes shopping, can vary wildly.

Categorize expenses

Now that you have an overall idea of monthly expenses, it's time to categorize them so you can review your fixed, variable, and discretionary expenses.

Fixed expenses

Fixed expenses stay the same amount month to month. Examples include a mortgage or rent, health insurance, a car payment, or house taxes. You can capture all of these in a "fixed expenses" category.

Tip: Variable expenses

You can't do without variable expenses, but they can fluctuate from month to month. Such expenses include groceries, car maintenance, electricity, and water usage.

Discretionary expenses

Discretionary expenses can vary wildly from one month to the next. Examples include dining out, streaming service subscriptions, a club membership, cable, and clothing.

Set your goals

Once you have a good idea of how much money is coming in versus what you're spending, you can start prioritizing for your short and long term goals.

Budget a home remodel

Is your washing machine on the fritz? Are your cabinets getting shabby? Master bath need an upgrade? Remodeling your home can present many contingencies. Remember to include these expenses as you look at your financial goals.

> Home construction budget

Tip: Keep your wedding options open

Consistent review of your finances helps you figure out if you've saved enough to purchase an item that's essential or just "nice to have." Do you need that rose archway for your wedding procession or just really want one? Either way, be sure to track this against your goals.

> Floral wedding budget

Plan for fun at college

If you stick to fixed expenses, you can get to your short and long term goals more quickly. But, you can also include a certain amount in your monthly budget for fun and entertainment - a variable expense you certainly might want to track while attending college.

> Monthly college budget

See Also

Financial management templates

LinkedIn Learning: Create a simple budget in Excel

Food Budget Template

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Manage money in Excel. Control your household budget with Excel budget templates. Track monthly budgets by income and expenses to set financial goals.

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Summary

This resource is one that gives someone free budget templates for Google Sheets. It gives easy step by step instructions to complete your budget. Its based on the Kakeibo budgeting method which comes from Japan.

Why did I pick this site; The website provides free simple spreadsheets and if someone does not want to pay for it they do not have too. I thought it would be interesting to put in a resource that is based off a method in Japan. This site goes over everything on how to create a budget.

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Download our free monthly budget template for Google Sheets or Excel.

I designed our free monthly budget spreadsheet to be as simple as possible to use.

This spreadsheet incorporates the 50/30/20 budgeting rule (explained below). It's also loosely based upon the Kakeibo budgeting method, an elegant technique from Japan. Here's what it looks like.

Read on to understand the philosophy behind this spreadsheet and get instructions for use. Download link is below.

50/30/20 monthly budget template

Our Google Sheets budget template lets you plug in your income and expenses to automatically calculate how much you have left to spend each month. It helps you see exactly what your income is going toward and shows you if you're under or over budget as you track your spending.

50/30/20 budgeting explained

This template includes guidance for the 50/30/20 budgeting method. This is a widely used strategy that's easy to apply and remember.

Basically, it helps you set priorities in your budget and categorize expenses by breaking your spending into three types: needs, wants, and savings. Then, it gives a different percentage of your income to each of these expense categories.

Here's how the 50/30/20 budget works:

50% is for needs. This includes household expenses that may fluctuate (think: groceries and utilities) as well as fixed costs, like insurance premiums or car payments, and other non-negotiables.

30% is for wants. This includes the things you do for fun, such as going to concerts or dining out, and other things that are important to you, like updating your seasonal wardrobe or donating to charity.

20% is for saving. This includes putting money into your emergency fund, investing in retirement accounts, and saving for big financial goals - like the down payment on a car or house.

You can think of your budget as a spending plan. By breaking your total income down into categories, you're telling yourself how much you can spend in each category - not focusing on what you shouldn't spend. This can be a helpful perspective if you've ever found budgeting to be too restrictive.

Now that you know how a 50/30/20 budget works, the next step is to personalize the budget template.

How to create your personal monthly budget template

Using the budget template is easy. Follow these steps to make it your own:

Make a copy of the spreadsheet

You cannot edit the public version of the spreadsheet. Go to File -> Make a copy to save your own copy of the budget spreadsheet. You can also download the spreadsheet to use in other applications like Microsoft Excel.

2. Enter your planned income, expenses and savings goals

Fill in the blanks for your monthly expenses by putting your typical costs in the "Planned" column for each category.

Check the "Need?" box for necessary expenses like groceries, rent and loan payments. Leave the box unchecked for discretionary expenses like dining, shopping and entertainment.

3. Enter your actual spending at the end of the month

Use the "actual" column to keep track of what you actually earn, spend and save throughout the month. You'll see the difference field automatically populate to show whether you are under or over your budget.

4. See how your budget lines up with the 50/30/20 rule

After you have entered an entire month's income, savings and expenses, you'll see the percentage of your income that you spent on necessities, "wants", and savings in the "Totals" box.

Why you should budget your whole income

Budgeting all of your income is a strategy known as zero-based budgeting and it's a good way to use your money more efficiently.

If you split 100% of your income across your categories - 50% for needs, 30% for wants, and 20% for saving/debt repayment - you'll know exactly what happens to every dollar at the end of the month so you can feel confident you've put all your money to good use. You won't have to worry about ending up with "leftover" cash and having to decide what to do with it.

What if you've budgeted for your wants and needs and don't know how to use the rest of your money? Try adding it to your emergency fund, investing it, or repaying more of your debt.

Figuring out your wants vs. needs

All of our wants and needs are different, and you might have to tweak the template to make it work for you.

For example, maybe travel expenses are actually a "need" for you because you travel for work or a gym membership is non-negotiable. Feel free to play around with the categories and make sure to update them regularly as your personal and financial needs change.

Tips for making the most of your monthly budget template

Once you have your spreadsheet set up, it's important to make the most of it all year long. Here are a few tips to help you apply your spending plan every month.

Review your budget on a monthly basis

At the beginning of the month, review the money you have for each category and adjust your spending accordingly. If a recurring expense changes or you need to update your income, do it right away.

Track your spending

Log your spending every time you pay a bill or make a purchase. Checking the spreadsheet often is a good way to avoid overspending and save money.

Check in each week

Check in with your remaining totals at the start of each week and identify areas where you might need to cut back. Your budget will only work if your income and expenses are accurate.

Adjust as needed

If your actual costs turn out to regularly be more or less than you estimated, update your budget accordingly. And if something comes up that you didn't budget for, like an unexpected repair or medical bill, make adjustments to your spending. For example, if you overspend in one category for one month, try to spend less in another.

Stay positive

If you do go over budget one month, don't let it discourage you. Just do what you can to balance your spending and start fresh next month. Sticking to a budget is hard, but you've got this. Remember, it's about progress not perfection.

Get our free monthly budget spreadsheet
" Get our free monthly budget spreadsheet here.
Don't like using a spreadsheet? Try these apps instead

If you already know budget templates just don't work for you, you can try an app instead.

There are a number of excellent budgeting apps to help you create a budget, track expenses, and see your cash flow. Many connect directly to your bank accounts to automate your budgeting and categorize your transactions, so there's very little setup required.

Here are three of our favorite best budgeting apps.

Empower

Empower, formerly Personal Capital, is *Larry David voice* pretty, pretty straightforward: link up your bank account and the app tracks your spending. Your results are displayed on this budgeting app in easy-to-read charts.

Other options include a multitude of calculators, a fee analyzer to see how your retirement account fees are impacting your retirement date, the ability to monitor your net worth, and even a retirement planner all for free. This dashboard is pretty comprehensive and you'll get the most out of it if you revisit it often.
" MORE: Learn more in our full Empower review.
PocketSmith

PocketSmith is a beginner-friendly budgeting app and money management tool. It makes it easy to look at your spending habits and think "big picture" about your money.

One way PocketSmith helps you do this is with future forecasting. As you set up your next month's budget, you can take a look at how small decisions impact your finances six months down the road. Then you can play around with budget categories and read reports to understand how you're really spending rather than just how you want to be using your money.
" MORE: Read our experience in our full PocketSmith review.
You Need A Budget (YNAB)

YNAB is a more extensive solution that helps you create a zero-based budget. Zero-based budgeting requires you to give every dollar a job and take tracking your spending to the next level.

To use this app, you'll set some goals and log your transactions throughout the month. Then, YNAB's reporting tools will help you monitor how you're doing and show you your full financial picture. This is an especially great option for anyone focused on reducing their debt.
" MORE: Check out our full YNAB review.
The bottom line

Budgeting can be as simple - or as complicated - as you want to make it. Our free monthly budget template is designed to be as easy to use as possible and to take the guesswork out of creating a budget. Get out of debt, understand your habits, and meet your savings goals by taking care of your budgeting.

David Weliver

Founder of Money Under 30, David has over 20 years of experience as a personal finance journalist covering credit cards, banking and investing.

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Free monthly budget template for Google Sheets

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Download our free monthly budget template for Google Sheets or Excel.

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Summary

This website has top excel templates for budgeting, personal, business, household expenses and the list goes on. They list why having a budget is important and each template guides you step by step through the process.

I picked this website because of the amount of free resources on it and this website did not disappoint. The templates in this resources touch on every aspect of life. If I wanted to save for retirement I could start now using the template in this web resource. Throughout this project experience I have tried to look for simple and free resources for someone to get started with budgeting.

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We’ve provided you with the best free budget template selection around, whether you’re managing a personal budget, an industry-specific budget, or balancing a household budget.