If you’re wondering how to save money and start a budget spreadsheet, there are a few basic steps you can take. First, to write out a budget you need to start off by defining your income and expenses.
Next you have to separate your expenses into categories and calculate their percentages of your income. Once you have done this you have a basic budget. You can then create subcategories for each expense.
The post will guide on how you can start your budget spreadsheet easily and will cover the following:
- Write a budget
- Adding expenses
- Dividing expenses into subcategories
- Calculating percentage out of income
- Adding the date section
- Personalizing your budget spreadsheet
Contents
Write A Budget
When you’re starting a budget, it’s important to keep track of how much money you spend each month. This will help you identify areas where you’re spending too much or too little.
For example, spending $10 or $8 a day on lunch can quickly add up to hundreds of dollars over the course of a month. You can reduce this cost by packing your lunch every day or finding cheaper alternatives.
The first step in creating a budget spreadsheet is to add up all the sources of income that you have. Depending on how much money you make, you may want to break it down by month. If you live in a joint household, you may want to include both income sources in one sheet.
If you have a side hustle, create columns for weekly and monthly earnings. You should also add a total box at the bottom of the spreadsheet. If you want to update the totals automatically, you can use a SUM formula.
Once you’ve established your income and expenses, you can start tracking your spending. Adding your income and expenses to the spreadsheet will give you an idea of what you can spend in each category.
This is essential for your financial health, and is an important part of budgeting. Many people find it unpleasant to create a budget, but it’s an essential part of financial life.
Add Expenses
There are a few ways to add expenses to a budget spreadsheet. First, make sure you have your total income and expenses. Next, add any fixed expenses in the fixed expenses tab of your budget spreadsheet.
You can also enter the total from your fixed expenses column into the Summary spreadsheet. Once you have finished adding all your fixed expenses, you can concentrate on variable expenses.
Once you have all your expenses entered, you can view your budget. The worksheet will display your total income and total expenses for each category.
You can also use formulas to add and subtract the two separately. If you want, you can also include a category for savings. This will allow you to view how much you have saved as well as what you still owe.
Another way to create a budget is to tally your income and expenses each month. This will help you determine if you are spending more than you are earning.
This will help you determine which areas you can cut back on. In addition, it will help you create a goal for savings or spending each month.
The first step is choosing a spreadsheet program and template for your budget. You can also use budget planning apps online. Once you have your spreadsheet, you need to make sure you update it frequently. Then, you can add extra features and categories.
Divide Expenses Into Subcategories
When setting up your budget, it can be helpful to divide your expenses into subcategories. Food, for instance, can be grouped into separate categories such as fast food, restaurants, groceries, etc.
You can use an alphabetized naming scheme to make it easier to organize the different subcategories. You can also group food by amount, category, and week. This will allow you to see how much you spent on each category per week.
Adding subcategories will help you stay more organized. For example, if you have several children, you can add their expenses into separate categories.
This way, you can make sure you have enough money set aside for each. Also, don’t forget to include school lunches in your monthly budget – the cost can be included in your grocery bills. You can also include private lessons if your kids take them.
You should always itemize expenses. This will make your budget spreadsheet more accurate. For example, utility expenses are important to every household, and should be included in the budget.
Utilities include electricity, gas, water, and sewage bills. You may also need to account for cell phone and internet expenses, depending on where you live.
Another way to split expenses into subcategories is to add custom categories. You can add new ones by switching to the Transactions tab. You’ll notice a list of your custom categories. Click on the last row to add your new category.
Calculate Percentage Out Of Income
If you’re trying to figure out how much money to save every month, one of the first things you need to do is to calculate the percentage of your income that should be devoted to saving.
It’s very easy to do. Just divide your monthly gross income by the percentage you’ve set up, and the formula will display the amount you need to save.
You’ll need to calculate your income and expenses. To do this, use the formula: =SUM(F4-E4), where F4 and E4 represent the Actual and Planned sections. Repeat this process for every row of income. Then, calculate your expenses, either on the same sheet or a new one.
As you create your budget, keep in mind that housing will likely be the largest percentage. The goal is to keep your housing costs at 30% or less of your income. Anything more than this can strain your budget.
If housing costs are too high, you may need to increase your income or look for cheaper housing. Once you’ve mapped out your percentages, set your goals and time frames.
Add Date Section
If you would like to track your expenses, you can add a date section to your budget spreadsheet. You can record the due dates of different bills and payments in this section. In addition, you can also track whether a bill has been paid or not. The dates of your expenses can be set to be recurring or non-recurring.
For example, if you are working on a budget for half the year, you should add a date section. Start by listing the months from January to June. Next, you should list your income. After that, you should list your expenses. Once you have entered the dates, Excel will use the formulas to figure out the total amounts.
Personalize Spreadsheet
It’s important to personalize a budget spreadsheet for your needs. Each person has different needs and wants, so you can include expenses for things like entertainment, travel, and a gym membership.
Also, you can add categories for savings, retirement, and an emergency fund. Make sure your budget spreadsheet has columns for all of these items, with several rows for each.
You can Make Use of Budget Templates
Many spreadsheet programs for home computers come with a budget template, which you can modify to suit your needs. This will help you see several months, if not years’, of budgeting data in one place. You can save time by avoiding spending on activities that require you to make frequent updates.
Another great feature of spreadsheet programs is the ability to sort and filter data. You can also create conditional formatting rules to highlight certain cells based on your budget status.
You can use this feature to highlight certain categories in your spreadsheet, as well as to make it easier to read. You can even share the spreadsheet with other people.
If you are using Excel, you can use bold colors and styling to make your budget worksheet more appealing to you. You can also use formulas to calculate totals.