Most budgets fail because they live in your head. This budget spreadsheet puts every dollar on one screen using the 50/30/20 framework: 50 percent for needs, 30 percent for wants, 20 percent for savings and debt. Copy it to Google Sheets or Excel, type in your numbers, and the formulas do the math for you.
What is inside
- Pre-built categories for income, fixed bills, variable spending, and savings
- An automatic savings-rate calculation so you can see the 20 percent target in real time
- A month-by-month tab to track the whole year
- A summary view that flags the months you overspent
How to use it
- Click the link below and choose “Make a copy” so you get your own private version.
- Enter your monthly take-home pay at the top.
- Fill in your fixed bills (rent, insurance, loan payments), then your variable spending.
- Check the savings-rate cell. If it is under 20 percent, trim a wants category.
Who it is for
Anyone who has never kept a budget, or who has tried apps and found them too noisy. It is plain, fast, and yours to edit. Start with last month’s real numbers rather than ideal ones, then adjust.