I am not good with the formulas for creating thales/graphs etc and looking for a pre made one. thanks!

Hello lovely ladies,

I see people posting here a bit asking for help with budgeting (a struggle I think many of us can relate to!), so I thought I would post my method for staying on track.

I made this spreadsheet template to help me keep track of my spending and it has helped SO MUCH, so I decided I would spiff it up and post it here on the off-chance that it might help someone else out as well. (Not an ad! Free for everyone to use and share!)

There is an info sheet, as well as the template and then an example. If you have any questions at all don't hesitate to ask here or send me a DM!

Budget Template here!

I have time set aside each week to go through my finances for the 7 days prior and plug them into the spreadsheet. Anymore time than this and I find that I start to spend money that I don't have. I always felt so ashamed going over budget at the end of every month until I realized that I don't have to wait until the end of the month to log my purchases. I have an alarm in my calendar to do it every Sunday night and I've had a lot of success with this method. I hope it helps you out too!

Please feel free to share the link if you have people in your life that might find this beneficial.

Resolving to start budgeting this year with my wife and trying to reduce friction as much as possible. Does anyone have a simple budgeting sheet for google that we can both use to get started?

I made my own template, as someone who has a moderate skill level in Excel/Google Sheets. It works just fine for what I need, but there is definitely room for improvement. I'd like to use other templates to help me level up my own.

im 18 and i want to start budgeting.
is there any simple yet effective budget templates?

My Annual Budget Spreadsheet (Clear/Clean Version): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FtgHnagIIOWhUJdNbSRjZmH-L47zDIrQRJIEe3HTtkk/edit?usp=sharing

My Annual Budget Spreadsheet (Test Version): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UvUzvr_D5-dWLayulfaWk44ianONLGVQiPjuwpn3nUk/edit?usp=sharing

The Redditor-created spreadsheets are available here: https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/tools.

The two Google Sheets templates (the default annual and monthly budget spreadsheets) are available here: docs.google.com/spreadsheets.

EDIT---Spreadsheet Change History since the First Version (in order of significance):

1. Both versions of my spreadsheet now have a "Net Worth" sheet (an edited [and corrected; the original has a couple of formula errors] version of NickABusey's sheet).

2. I revealed a previously hidden row (my mistake, was an accident) titled "Totals," in the sheet called "Savings Goals."

3. The chart titled "Average $ Spent per Category," located in the "Annual Budget Summary," had it's title capitalized correctly and it's reference range corrected. (This chart is really superfluous in my opinion, but I didn't delete it becuase it was a part of the Google template that I copied from, and I don't care much either way. Feel free to delete it or both of the charts included, and/or add other charts.) (If you didn't already know, charts are really easy to implement. Just highlight the data you want to include in your chart, press the chart button, customize, and you're done.)

4. I also changed the "Starting Month/Y:" date format becuase I like the current version more than the previous version.

Hello everyone! As most of you, it has been impossible to find a budget tracking tool that fits perfectly your needs. That's why I developed my own and I think it can be general enough and usable for a lot of people.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1L1KvGzp3aHBJNIwEBGnty5ureJnp-kt7Zi8s2hkqC8w/edit?usp=sharing

First of all:

- it fits my requirements (single, one source of income, basic expenses)

- it is quite simple but with much room for improvement

How does it work:

- on the first sheet ("Budget"), you can set your monthly budget by specifying your salary and the percentage of each of the categories (Living expenses, Extra and Savings)

- duplicate the sheet "MonthTemplate" for each month

- here you can add expenses to each of the category

- the budget created in the first sheet will be imported in the month sheets to compare with the actual expenses

Note:

- the spreadsheet requires the extension Formulas by Top Contributors (https://workspace.google.com/marketplace/app/formulas_by_top_contributors/515924842729) in order to get the Spreadsheet ID (used for the =IMPORTRANGE function)

Let me know if you have any question or suggestion!

Hey everyone,

I've been a heavy user of Google Sheets for a few years now and thought it would be fun to share something I've built with this community. About 2 years ago, I was on a mission looking for a new budgeting tool. I tried various ones and, in the end, none of them were quite what I wanted. Discouraged, I decided to try creating a budgeting tool in Sheets with the end goal making something powerful and easy to use (features I thought existing templates severely lacked). Over time, I ended up creating a spreadsheet and making it available for others to download and use (AspireBudget.com). Our little community has grown a lot recently and it's been great to help others on their financial journeys. Reflecting back, here are some tricks I've picked up on the way.

A few screenshots of the current version for reference:

Dashboard

Category Reports

Trend Reports

Some things I've learned

Beyond basic function uses and technical knowledge, these are some of the standout things I've learned.

SUMIF and SUMIFS are underrated

It's amazing what you can do with these two functions. I split and slice all kinds of Transactions data using these functions to generate reports and the data on the main Dashboard page. Combining this with date ranges provides another valuable window into the data because you can bound your data by years or months.

Designing an interface in Google Sheets is fun

I come from a FED/UX background and was surprised at just how flexible the styling and theming tools are. Using some simple front-end skills, it's pretty straightforward to create something that mimics a native web application. This is a huge win for me, because I wanted to the tool to be easy to understand and approachable for technical and non-technical users.

Small images are the icing on the cake

Spreadsheets are notorious for being bland and for being a wall of text. Google's IMAGE function is a huge win in this area because you can use it to add a little color and some surprises to your sheets to make them more enjoyable (not to mention useful). I'm really proud of the mini pie charts I'm able to show on the Dashboard. I think they really elevate the experience.

Combining multiple graphs to convey more information

Sometimes you want to visually show data in a graphical format in a spreadsheet. While powerful, the existing graphs and charts sometimes aren't flexible enough to show all the data you want or to convey the whole picture. I learned that creating two or three graphs and placing them near one another made a kind of "super graph" - together, these graphs clearly communicated the data I wanted to show.

Other thoughts

If the tool is free, why did you make it?

I don't charge for Aspire, it's a totally free tool (it doesn't collect any data either). My end goal with it is primarily to have fun and to create something others can find useful. More recently, I've thought about Google Sheets as an encore career and possibly having a small consulting business that helps other people/companies with Google Sheets. That's a pipe dream at this point though :)

Connecting

I'm always looking for feedback on Aspire so I can make it the best spreadsheet budgeting resource around. If anyone is interested enough to kick the tires on it, I'd love to hear your thoughts. I'm always available through DM or my subreddit r/AspireBudgeting.

(Mods, I've tried to follow all the rules for sharing something I created in Google Sheets - if I missed something, please let me know and I'll get it fixed!)

Hey y’all! I’m a college student and when I go back to school, I’ll only be able to work part time. Does anyone know of any budgeting templates or apps that are fitting for that? Literally the only ones I can find that are simple and effective are ones that would only make sense using if you have a fixed amount of money coming in. I don’t know how much my paychecks will be for the most part.

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for a budget Excel sheet(free if possible) or template. Does anyone know where I can download one, or would anyone be willing to share the one they use? I’d like something to help me track my monthly income, expenses, and savings.

Thanks in advance!

I'm no pro so tips on making this better are welcome

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZWzvBxw7U568VyiWc8wU-pLtPCcTz3jAATAGmcj3HbA/edit?usp=sharing

Oh and ps: "Oslo" is my bet bird haha

Any idea or template for a budget tracker using Google sheets on mobile? Most of the apps charge subscription plus need to connect to bank but looking for something free and simpler. Like getquin but for daily budget tracking.

So, I'm a serial over-spender. To the tune of... many thousands in credit card debt. I won't be debt free until I'm almost 40.

One of the main barriers to my budgeting regularly is anxiety over money.... this doesn't help that. But the OTHER barrier to budgeting is... making it fun and pretty?

YOU CAN BUY REALLY PRETTY BUDGET TEMPLATES ON ETSY. Did I spent $14 on one this morning? Yes. But am I excited to try to stick to the budget that I set up? ALSO YES.

Seriously- they work with google sheets, and the one I got at least was SUPER well set up. Lots of good instructions. Totally worth the $14. Could I have made it myself? Maybe. But this is all pre-set up to calculate things and add things and label things... and my lord, it's nice.

Also, I was able to calculate that I'll be debt free in Jan 2027, which honestly... not as bad as I thought? And I can speed that up by making better choices and allocating more towards debt. And, once again... yes, I could have set this up myself. But it would have taken lots more than $14 worth of my time to do it. In about two hours of fiddling with it this morning, I learned a lot about how much I've already overspent for this month (whoops) but I also have a plan to level out by next paycheck!

Sometimes Etsy rocks.

This is the one I bought.... but there are SO many other options if this one doesn't strike your fancy!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1575069197/annual-budget-google-sheets-spreadsheet

I'm not good with google sheets so dont have any idea how to make a good budgeting sheet.

So I am looking for something a bit more well-rounded and more feature-set than what I have set up at home, and that's because I am not very good at making these and doing visual charts!

Anyway, I need something that will allow me to put in income in one section, reoccurring bills and payments in another section, and maybe a section for loans that are out so those can be separated as reoccurring but I can see how it is affecting my budget since these types of loans aren't like car payment or mortgage, but maybe like a personal loan for school or something. I'd also like a section for wants and one for savings so we can see what we can fit into our budget. I think this would also be the spot for costs associated with my kids wanting to do something. Finally, maybe a check box that would denote if a bill was paid and show on a different visual chart. I just want to get an excellent handle on our finances and while it isn't terrible now, I think I can improve and this helps my wife and I be able to see a little better what we are doing and how we can improve.

Thanks in advance!

Side note, something free is best as I don't want to spend money if I do not have to, but will pay if reasonable, I understand supporting people for their work.

Hello does anyone have a google sheet budget template they could recommend?

Hi FI folks,

I’m looking to refine my personal finance tracking and am curious about the Google Sheets templates you use. Do you have a go-to template for tracking net worth, expenses, investments etc? Please share your templates and any insights on how you’ve customized them to fit your needs.

Appreciate any help!

TLDR: Can someone help me apply a filter for only the current month (only august, only sep, etc) and have it be reflected in the summary? (Link to the budget sheet provided below) (Currently the summary doesn't differentiate between different months, and unfortunately shows a budget summary of EVERYTHING I've input. This doesn't change even if I filter any of the tables. Also even if I filter the table using the "date is: past month" filter, it filters it by the past 30 days, not by the current month)

FULL DESCRIPTION: There is a monthly budget sheet template on google sheets that doesn't really budget per month. So if I put in expenses or income for multiple months in the same sheet, it won't differentiate between the different months. To try and figure out how to sort the summary sheet based on the current month I've made a drop-down (picture attached below), but I'm not sure if that's actually gonna work, cuz then I would have to include the year, cuz once the next August (August 2026) comes, I don't want to see the previous August's data (August 2025).

I know I could simply copy the file over every month, but I want to access all my information on one sheet rather than multiple.

I've separated the expenses and income tables into different sheets (picture attached below) to be able to sort each table separately. The column sorting already has a built-in "sort by month" feature.

I've attached my modified monthly budget sheet below. I'd really appreciate any help!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zNsKuNJqcbwmuvIhDFoD_1LOp02856LBuLpH7AKryn4/edit?usp=sharing

I've tried attaching screenshots, but it won't let me :( . Here's a link to 3 screenshots of things I have referenced in this post: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1IhIGwUI7cH4G-Mhph2UFQcJm6qqE1qmI?usp=sharing