It is never easy to manage your money. You have to budget template all of your daily living expenses and make sure that you have enough for emergency situations, then you also have to set aside some money for your savings. Luckily, there are budget worksheets that can help you out. We will show how you to make a proper spreadsheet template, as well as how you can better manage your free budget so you will be able to save up for the future. You may also see budget sample.
How to create a budget worksheet
You should know by now that budget sheets template is using tools that help you manage your income statement so you can stay out of debt. Creating a budget is important for everyone—whether they are college students, families, or businesses plan. While this may take considerable time and effort on your part, knowing how to create a budget sheet can actually give you freedom and peace of mind. You may also see sample budget template.
So, here are the steps needed for you to create your own personal budget worksheet: You may also see daily worksheet templates.
You will not be able to plan out where your money is supposed to go if you do not even know how budgeting works now. Basically, if you budget your finances report, you want to make sure that your expenses are equal to or less than your amount of income. You want to be able to afford that shiny new car or vacation while still be able to pay for the necessities such as food, water, and electricity. You may also see corporate budget template.
- Expenses (also called expenditures) are costs that you have. These would be the bills you have to pay such as loan payments, food, clothes, and other needs. You may also see Research Budget Templates.
- Income is money you receive no matter what the source may be. This is mostly from the salary you get for your job, but you may have other sources of income such as child support or even alimony. You may also see fundraising budget templates.
- Budgets can take up different shapes, and they all depend on how detailed you want them to be. There are several budgeting tools that can help you out such as online budget sheets, software, or spreadsheets template. After you have understood the basics of how budgeting works, then you can choose the best system that works for you. You may also see conference budget templates.
Identify your goal
Are you just trying to track where your money is going? Are you trying to pay off a debt that you have? Are you saving for something you want in particular? You have to be able to know what the goal of your budgeting is so that you will prioritize where you are going to put your money. This will definitely help you appoint how much money goes where and make sure that you get closer to your smart goal. You may also see manufacturing budget templates.
List your monthly income
This can come from single or even multiple jobs that you have, so list down all of them. Wherever the income comes from, list it at the top of your budget sheet. Then, once you have taken into account all of the sources, calculate the total amount of income and draw a box around that number. You may also see budget calendar templates.
- If you receive your paycheck every week, then just take the number and multiply it by four. If you receive it bi-weekly budget, take that number and multiply it by two. In both cases, you will have a bit extra that should help you cover either annual or biannual expenses report. You may also see IT budget template.
- If you also get commissions, estimate your monthly income by totaling everything that you have earned within the past 12 months, and then dividing the total number by 12. You need to save a little extra if you want to get through the leaner months. You may also see film budget template.
Outline your monthly expenses
This should include all of the bills that you have to pay on a regular basis. So, that means everything from your electricity, water, mortgage, loan payments, or any other type of monthly budget bills. You should also include any irregular expenses you have such as gas, groceries, phone bills, and more. List an expected amount of money spent in each category and make sure that the amount is realistic. You may also see nonprofit budget templates.
- Prioritize items. Start with the expenses that you have to make sure that you are going to pay. This ensures that you have the money to spend on the necessities.
- Put more money than you think you will need in the groceries category. There have been a lot of cases where people tend to think that their budget for groceries is just enough when it may actually not be able to cover it. So, put a little extra into your grocery budget. You may also see trial balance worksheet templates.
- Add your “extras” to the end. These are expenses such as movies, coffee drinks, books, music, or whatever your favorite pastime happens to be. You should definitely plan for them as you never know when you might be tempted to spend money. Then, when you engage in these fun activities, you at least know that it is already in your budget proposal template. you may also see budget timeline templates.
- You should always have an emergency fund and list it down in your simple budget. You will never know when a particular emergency may happen that will require you to pull out additional cash from your bank account. So, put some money into an emergency budget that will help you deal with unexpected situations that require you to spend money. you may also see budget tracking templates.
Add annual or other expenses
There are some expenses that will require you to pay up only once or twice a year. Estimate a monthly price for that item so you can be prepared whenever the time comes for you to actually pay for that expense. For example, you may be required to pay your insurance company every six months, so divide the amount you have to pay by six and that will become that item’s monthly expense.
Check your budget
Total all of your expenses and see whether or not they are equal to or less than your amount of income. If you still have an income after you have subtracted the total from your expenses, then that is what you would call a surplus. If your expenses are more than your income statement, then that is what you would call a shortage. In the event of a shortage, you have to modify your budget to make sure that you can pay all of the expenses with enough left over for yourself. You may also see manufacturing budget template.
Modify your budget
There are a number of reasons why you would want to modify your budget. Maybe you want to save up for a new home or you have more sample income than you thought you would initially have. You may have forgotten a couple of expenses report that can greatly affect your budget or maybe your income has increased and you are trying to start your own family. It is okay to change your budget to reflect the changes in your life. So, adjust it as you see fit and make sure that you have enough to help you get by through life without any problems. You may also see sample budget templates for Mac
Budgeting tips for your daily life
- Pay off any debts you have. No matter what kind of debt you have, make sure that it is your top priority. Everything else comes second, so manage your budget in a way that ensures you are able to pay off debts as soon as possible. You may also see household budget templates
- Remember that every month is different. Monthly expenses are not going to be same all the time. So you have to make sure that these variable expenses are all taken into account in your budget. Be sure to adjust your budget each month as things change. You should definitely consider creating a savings fund where you can stash any additional cash that you have throughout the year. If you do not come up with a plan for every month that is going to pass by, then there is a huge chance that your expenses are going to go well beyond your savings and that is not a good thing. You may also see vacation budget template
- Do the budget with a partner. If you have a roommate or a spouse that you share expenses with, work with them to create a working budget. If the two of you are one, your bank accounts should be one, too! If you are single, then you can find someone who can act as your accountant to help make sure that you stick to your goals! You may also see non-profit budget templates.
- Start with the important categories first. While it may be nice to put whatever you want to spend in the expense category of your budget, you have to remember that there are some necessary expenses that you have to make every month if you want the basic comforts of life. This should be obvious as you have to take into account expenses for food, water, shelter, and utilities. After you have listed down all of your important expenses and prioritized them, then you can fill out the rest of the expense category within your budget list templates.
- Do not be afraid to make any budget cuts. While a lot of people do not want to do this, it may be necessary for a couple of budget cuts in their lives. You have to do this especially if you are really tight on money. You can take out a couple of luxuries such as those expensive dinners that you have every night or those costly chocolates that you buy every time you are at the grocery store. Remember, budget cuts are only temporary so you will not be saying goodbye to these luxuries for too long. You can always make adjustments later down the road. You may also see budget templates in PDF.
- Create a schedule for expenses. While you are making a budget part of your monthly routine, then you should pick specific dates to pay particular expenses. Set up auto drafts out of your checking account to bill payment and buy groceries on a specific date every week or even every month. When you know how much you are going to spend and when you are going to spend that money receipt, you can make sure that there are no surprise expenses in your budget list. So, you should definitely consider creating a budget calendar to help you out. you may also see budget templates in Excel.
- Use cash for certain budget categories. If there are times when you tend to overspend on a couple of expenses such as grocery shopping or fun money, then these expenses are ones you should pay with cash. Withdraw the amount that you actually need for those particular expenses and nothing more. This way, the moment that you are done paying for the expense, you will not be tempted to keep spending even more. You may also see family budget worksheet templates.
- Have budget goals. You need to focus on why you are creating the budget in the first place. Is it because you have to pay off a student loan? Are you trying to save up for an emergency fund? Are you trying to save up to pay your mortgage? What is the reason you’re making these sacrifices? Knowing this will help you with the direction you are going in terms of managing your sample budget and help guarantee that you will not lose focus.
Everything that has been outlined here are merely suggestions or frameworks for getting you started on creating a budget plan. It is up to you to fill in those frameworks with the right kind of budgeting strategy plan that works for you. Feel free to experiment and play around with new techniques. Once you find the one that works for you, it is best that you share it with others to help them out with their budgeting problems. You may also see college budget templates.