Free Budget Template and Tips For Getting Started
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A budget planner is a tool, such as a worksheet or template, that you can use to design your budget. A successful budget planner helps you decide how to best spend your money while avoiding or reducing debt.
NerdWallet recommends the 50/30/20 budget, which suggests that 50% of your income goes toward needs, 30% toward wants and 20% toward savings and debt repayment.
Before you start budgeting, gather key information
Before you get started with our free budget worksheet below, you’ll need some key financial information, including:
Your take-home pay, or your monthly income after taxes. A pay stub will likely be the easiest place to find this information.
Your fixed expenses. These are things like housing and utility payments, insurance premiums, debt or loan amounts, child care costs, memberships and other bills that stay the same each month. Check account statements to find recurring charges and their amounts.
Your variable costs. These are expenses that change every month, including groceries, gas costs, shopping, dining out, travel and entertainment.
Your debts, including interest. Be sure to include credit card debt, medical debt and other kinds of debt in your monthly budget.
Having all of this information at hand will make calculating your budget much smoother and more accurate.
Free budget worksheet
Add your income and expenses to this monthly budget planner, and we'll show how your spending aligns with the 50/30/20 rule.
Other ways to budget
Try a different type of tool
If the planner above isn’t working for you, explore other budget spreadsheets and templates. Or consider one of these budget apps. Most of them sync with your financial accounts, so they can track and categorize expenses for you. Keep in mind that some budgeting apps are free, while others charge a monthly or annual fee.
If you’re looking for a more simplified snapshot, try our budget calculator. For other money matters, check out more financial calculators from NerdWallet.
Try another budget breakdown
If it’s the 50/30/20 income breakdown that doesn’t resonate with you, here are other budgeting systems that organize your spending in different ways:
Zero-based budget: People who overspend or are meticulous about tracking their cash flow can benefit from a zero-based budget. In this approach, you give every single dollar in your budget a purpose until you end up with zero dollars.
Envelope budget: This system may be effective for impulse spenders who want to monitor how much they spend. With envelope budgeting, you allocate a set amount of money to each item in your budget. You then create envelopes for each category and stuff the set amount of cash in them.
Pay-yourself-first budget: Also known as reverse budgeting, pay-yourself-first budgeting involves tucking away money for things like savings and investing first. The rest of your money can then go to other priorities like bills or leisure. It can be an ideal system for people who aren’t interested in accounting for every penny.
Once you’ve chosen your budgeting system, you can move on to picking a budget planner to help break down your budget and put the numbers into perspective.
The best budget is one that’s easy to use and stick with. No matter which budget planner you decide to use, take some time to tweak your approach and adjust your spending as needed until you reach your ideal budget.
If you can’t make that budget a reality, or if you’re struggling to get a handle on your finances, budgeting might not be enough for you. Explore other options, such as seeking expert financial advice or resources that can help you pay bills.
