Free and Easy Budget Template

If you’ve got money goals (who doesn’t?), you need to know something important: If you don’t tell your money where to go, you’ll always wonder where it went! So, to reach your money goals, you need a budget.

Get expert money advice to reach your money goals faster!

If you’ve never budgeted before, or if it’s been a while, jumping in can be challenging. You know what can help? A budget template!

There’s nothing like having clear directions to follow and step-by-step blanks to fill in to give you the confidence you need on this budgeting journey. You ready? (Yes, you are.)

Download the Free Budget Template

A budget template (or budget worksheet) is a great way to get everything on paper, on purpose—no more keeping track in your head. We’ll walk you through three steps to set up your budget using our free Quick-Start Budget template, plus two more steps to keep your budget on track every month.

This free, printable PDF template has everything you need to set up your monthly budget and keep track of your spending:

• Pre-organized expense categories (housing, food, utilities, transportation, insurance, debt)
• Planned spending columns
• Income tracking section for regular paychecks and side income
• Miscellaneous category for unexpected expenses
• Simple math: Income – Expenses = $0

So before you dive in, download and print out your free Quick-Start Budget template and open up your online bank account!

Also, heads up: As we walk through the steps to fill out the budget template, we’ll mention the Baby Steps a couple times. This is the proven plan to get ahead with your money—from saving more to paying off debt to building real wealth. And your budget is a huge part of making the Baby Steps work!

How to Use the Budget Template

Okay, now that you have the template, let’s learn how to use it.

Our Quick-Start Budget template will help you set up a zero-based budget. Zero-based budgeting is our go-to method because it puts you in control of your income. The goal is to give every dollar you make a job, whether that’s giving, saving or spending. You’ll add up all your income and subtract all your expenses until you have zero dollars left to budget.

1. List your income.

Do you see the Planned column in the Income box at the top left of your Quick-Start Budget template? That’s where you list out all the money that’s coming in this month. Here are some quick callouts when it comes to this first step:

• Make sure you write in regular paychecks and anything extra, like that side hustle money. (Go you!)
• If you’re married, list out all the income for both of you. (It’s pretty romantic, really.)
• If you’ve got an irregular income, take a look at what you’ve made the last few months and list the lowest amount as this month’s planned income budget line. You can adjust later in the month if you make more. (We’ve got a special irregular income budget template if you need it.)

Then, add it all up and write in your total. Now you know how much money you have to work with this month.

2. List your expenses.

Now that you’ve planned for what’s coming in, you need to plan for what’s going out: your giving, saving (depending on what Baby Step you’re on) and spending.

Your giving should come before anything else. Why? Real financial peace doesn’t happen until you give back. You can give to your church, an organization you like, or a friend in need. If you’re in a tight position, start small (or give your time and talent). But give something and take it right off the top. You won’t regret it!

And if you have specific money goals and are out of debt, make sure saving is also a priority. Say you want to make a big purchase (like a car or a down payment on a house) and are putting a little bit away every month. Well, make sure that little bit doesn’t get smaller by putting it at the top next to your giving (and it’s conveniently located in that order on the sheet).

When it comes to all the monthly spending you need to plan for, you’ll see the budget worksheet goes in this order:

• Your Four Walls—food, utilities, housing and transportation
• Other essentials—like insurance and debt payments
• Extras—like fun money and that helpful miscellaneous line

(You’ve probably noticed your online bank account is really coming in handy right now.)

As you work through your monthly budget template:

• Skip any lines you don’t need
• Write in anything you don’t see a spot for
• Add up the Planned amounts on the Total line inside each box

All right. What’s next?

3. Subtract expenses from your income.

When you do the math on your budget planner sheet, your income minus your expenses should equal zero. We call this the zero-based budget.

No, this does not mean you let your bank account reach zero. Leave a little buffer in there of about $100–300. 

What it does mean is that you’re giving all your money a job—paying the bills and moving you forward on your money goals. Because you work hard for your money, people. And it should work hard for you. Every. Single. Dollar.

What if you don’t hit zero?

• Got money left over? Um, celebrate! This is great! Then put those dollars toward your current Baby Step.

• Got a negative number? Pause. Don’t freak out. It’ll be okay. You just need to cut spending (or increase your income!) until you get to zero.

So, guess what. That’s it for creating the budget. These next two tips will help you stick to it and make it actually work for you.

4. Track your transactions (all month long).

How do you stay on top of your spending? Track. Your. Transactions. That means you’re tracking everything that happens to your money all month long! This is how you keep an eye on your progress and keep from overspending. 

5. Make a new budget (before the month begins).

Your budget won’t change too much from month to month—but no two months are exactly the same. So create a new budget every single month. Don’t forget month-specific expenses (like holidays or seasonal purchases). And do this before the month starts so you can get ahead of what’s coming your way.

To the Budget Template . . . and Beyond!

Okay, you probably noticed those last two steps aren’t on your monthly budget template. That’s because the template is just a great start. It helps you level up from budget dreamer to budget planner.

But are you ready to start telling your money where to go (instead of always wondering where it went)? Make it easier on yourself and download our EveryDollar budgeting app.

EveryDollar does more than just help you track your spending and manage your money—it actually helps you find more margin every month! Just download the app, answer a few questions, and we’ll build you a plan to free up thousands in margin to put toward your goals.

Free Budget Template vs. Budgeting App

Feature	Printable Template	EveryDollar App
Format	PDF worksheet	Mobile/web app
Transaction tracking	Manual	Connects to your bank
Best for	Beginners, pen-and-paper preference	Ongoing daily tracking
Setup time	5–10 minutes	15 minutes

 

 

Budget Template FAQs