Budgeting for Beginners: A Step-by-Step Guide When you start paying attention to every dollar, it quits flying out the window and you can use more of it. The issue most people have is that they don’t know where the money is going, so it feels like there is never enough. It’s very likely that you have more money than you realize. It’s a very eye-opening experience when you see the numbers on paper. Well, most people find that after doing their first budget, they feel like they got a RAISE! I certainly felt this way as well. You don’t have as much leeway in your spending and a small mistake or emergency could be devastating.

When you are on a tight budget or a low income, it is especially important to do a budget. It doesn’t matter if you make a lot or a little, your money will not work for you, if you don’t tell it where to go. If you don’t make a plan, then your money will leave you. A budget is simply a plan for your money.

Need More Help With Budgeting and Bill Pay?īe sure to check out these other free printables.Get your FREE budget worksheet But how can I budget when I am broke?Įven if you make $35,000 a year or $350,000 a year, you must have a budget. If you’re having trouble printing or editing one of our printables, click here for help. Many web browsers have their own built-in PDF viewers, but they tend to be buggy. If you save it, you’ll be able to tweak it throughout the month, if you need to. Once you’re happy with your budget, print it out, or save it to a device. Make those things a part of your budget, and you’re much more likely to follow through with them. Since we’re all about side hustles, saving and paying off debt around here, you’ll also see that this budget worksheet has room to enter multiple income streams, and to plan how much you’re going to save and pay off this month. To budget for expenses that you only pay once a year, just divide those costs by 12 to arrive at their monthly cost to you. You want your budget to reflect your true out of pocket costs for the month. Also leave off health, life, dental, vision and disability insurance, if they’re automatically deducted from your pay. If there’s an expense listed that doesn’t pertain to you, just enter a zero in the field next to it.ĭon’t include homeowner’s insurance or property tax, if they’re included in your mortgage payment. Want to see how certain changes would impact your budget? Go back and tweak the numbers as many times as you’d like, and the total will continue to update. Just input your monthly income and expenses, and the worksheet will automatically crunch the numbers as you go. And it even has extra space for you to enter additional expenses. It includes lots of things that other budget worksheets leave off – stuff like streaming services, pet care and gifts. Use this printable monthly budget worksheet to create a budget that matches your lifestyle and your goals.

Simple monthly budget worksheet