"Personal Budget Template"

How to Make a Personal Budget?

You can download any Personal Budget template making necessary adjustments in accordance with your personal preferences; however, at a minimum, you should follow these steps to draft a Personal Budget:

1. Collect all your financial statements including bills and pay stubs.
2. Determine whether you need a Personal Monthly Budget or it will be easier for you to monitor your finances weekly. If you take care of your own spending habits and want to monitor the budget of the entire family, you may prepare a separate spreadsheet that will cover your shared expenses.
3. Calculate your income. Do not forget to indicate outside sources of income such as benefits and child support in addition to your salary.
4. List all expenses you plan to have during a week or month. Make sure you write down variable expenses such as entertainment and medical care payments. To figure out future expenses, refer to old bank statements and receipts, including electronic ones, to plan your spending better.
5. Compute the total income and expenses. If the expenses exceed the income, review the budget and decide which expenses can be eliminated - people often deal with unnecessary subscriptions or contribute to the household budget out of their own wallet.
6. Figure out if you can afford to save money every week or month.
7. Leave free space for notes and tips on what alterations to your spending habits are required to reduce the number of expenses.

How to Create a Personal Budget in Excel?

It is possible to make an Excel Personal Budget template to list all the sources of income and expenses. Open Excel, click "New" and select the appropriate option - you can find the template you are looking for under "Personal". Alternatively, you may use an embedded search engine to look for the perfect template online and later edit it in Excel. You will be able to use templates with built-in formulas so it is up to you to fill out the budget the way you like and the program will calculate everything for you.

If none of the offered templates suit your needs, use Excel to create a Personal Budget spreadsheet from scratch. To do it, open Excel, click "Blank workbook", and add as many columns and rows as you want - for instance, you may sort your expenses by date and compute the weekly or monthly balance if necessary. Once you are ready, save the Personal Budget to your computer or smartphone to be able to access and update it anytime you want.

What Is the Goal of Using a Personal Budget?

People monitor their finances for different reasons. Here is why you should consider composing and keeping a Personal Budget planner:

1. Learn to manage your finances. Whether you are a young student who needs to remove unnecessary expenses or you live alone for the first time in your life and want to be financially independent, it is essential to discover the basics of sound money management.
2. Keep track of your debt payments, credit card obligations, loans, mortgages, and bills. If you have a table of all expenses, both fixed and variable, you will not miss an important deadline and will not risk fines or penalties for overdue payments.
3. Find out whether your income allows you to set up an emergency fund. You never know when you might need a large sum of money, and it is highly recommended to analyze the budget and understand whether you can save 5 or 10% of your salary or dividends to build up a financial cushion for yourself and your loved ones.

Haven't found the template you're looking for? Take a look at the related templates below:

• Household Budget Template;
• Monthly Budget Template;
• Business Budget Template.