Table of Contents
Introduction
Budgeting is always perceived as a grueling and painstaking process. When people think about budgeting, they picture a penny-pinching individual hunched over papers, fiddling with accounts. Coming up with a budget and sticking to it is one of the best financial moves you can implement to take better control of your money. Did you know that budgeting makes it easier to save and invest even if you live paycheck to paycheck? Wouldn’t it be nice to always have the cash to pay your bills and still have some leftover to indulge in your hobby or self-care?
Budgets are guides that help you have more control over your future. They simply tell your money where to go!
The most popular way of budgeting is through a budgeting template.
So what is a budgeting template?
Budget templates are customizable guides that help you track and plan your monthly income against your expenses. Budget templates make it easier for individuals to plan for their income. These templates are created on different financial and budgeting techniques to serve an array of needs and preferences.
There are different types of budget templates, depending on your needs and preferences. These templates come in two formats: printables and electronics.
What is the best budget template?
Budget templates are designed to meet the needs of different users. As such, there is no one-size-fits all best budget template. As such, you should defined your needs, income/expenditure and savings goals to determine which budget suitable meets all your needs.
Can Budget Templates work for low-income earners?
Yes! Budgets work for all types of income earners. You might be in debt and living paycheck to paycheck or comfortably with a significant income and still need to budget!. Think about a budget as a personal finance manager. It will help you understand how to prioritize your spending and even help you invest and save money!
Can’t save money because of bills? This guide includes 50+ Free Budgeting Templates that can help you become more financially independent and stop living paycheck to paycheck. While most of these budgets are free, some are provided on a free trial with premium versions. Additionally, most of these budgets require you to submit your email address before downloading them. The list below includes simple budget templates in pdf and excel formats.
Hint: Go through this exhaustive list before downloading the template. This way, you will only submit your email for a template that works for you!
- The Savvy Worker Free Budget Template Our free Monthly and Weekly Budget Planner will help you become more financially independent. The budget template comes with 140+ Pages that include Monthly Budget Planner, Weekly Budget Planner, Notes Pages, and Income and Expense Adjustment Pages. the budget template is designed for both monthly and bi-weekly earners. It includes an expense listing and income listing page where you can cite all your sources. This template is tailored for both new and experienced budgeters.
- FREE Simple Monthly Budget Template from The Savvy Couple
This is a simple monthly budget template that is better suited for a beginner. The template is provided as a printable that can be tailored to your income and needs. When you download the template, fill in the requirements electronically, then print it as a guide for either your monthly or weekly needs. So what are the main goals of this template? It helps you create a budget that works, helps you reduce spending without sacrificing, helps you manage and pay off your debt, and introduces a fast and easy budgeting system. The template allows you to add all your sources of income, personal and commercial expenses, debt, and savings goals with the budgeting tracks. The budget auto-calculates your monthly cash flow and displays it at the bottom. This template can be accessed through an email submission form with instant access. If the goals are better suited to your needs, head over to the site and download it now!
3. Free It’s Your Money Budget Spreadsheets
It’s your money blog that provides tools for users to create free Excel budgeting spreadsheet templates. These free printable and digital templates can be customized for budgeting purposes ranging from household to debt budgets. All you need is the Microsoft Excel program and little experience in creating spreadsheets with macros.
4. Frugal Fanatic Free Monthly Budget Printable Template
This free printable budget template allows you to track your expenses and determine any drastic changes in expenditures. The template has four main categories including, Groceries, Fuel, Entertainment, and Cable & Internet. It also allows you to allot your income to other money-saving schemes like investment and savings. Frugal Fanatics also have other premium budgeting templates that can be accessed for as low as $14.99 and vary from yearly household templates to personalizable monthly templates.
5. PearBudget Free and Paid Budget Spreadsheet
PearBudget is an online tool that will help you understand budgeting, investing, and saving. The advantages of this platform include enhanced privacy with no requests for bank information, ability to automate expense tracking, integration of tested financial management approaches, and cheap paid version (approximately 33 cents per day charged monthly ($5/month). Checkout this system if you are looking for a more automated budgeting system instead of a hands on approach.
6. Frugal Mom Budget Template based on Dave Ramsey Envelope System
If you are interested in personal finance management then you have probably come across Dave Ramsey. Ramsey is the pioneer of a number of budgeting, savings, and investment systems that are tailored for everyone looking to have better control over their money and future! This printable is based on an envelope system introduced by Ramsey where you are able to reduce spending by paying for bills and other expenses using cash in these envelopes. Frugal Mom has created this template based on Ramsey’s system and provides a guide on how to use the system and budget template.
7. Tiller Money
Tiller Money provides both free and paid options for budgeting. The free budgeting templates can be accessed through Google Sheets with Tiller Money Feeds that automatically imports your daily finances into the sheets. There are a number of other free and paid personal finance management templates ranging from comparison reports to money tracking templates. This platform is suitable for both amateurs and seasoned budgeters.
8. Free Printable Monthly Budget by Lightroom Presets
This budgeting template is available for free and is one of the easiest and customizable templates on this list. The Free template is provided by lightroom presets and enables the user to adjust their savings goals and expenses according to their needs. The template has an exhaustive list of expenses making it easier for everyone to track and manage their weekly or monthly expenses. The template comes with a checkbox next to each expense to help you track what needs to be paid and what is already paid.
9. Spreadsheet123® budget templates
Spreadsheet123® budget templates are free and simple printable templates that can be downloaded and customized from the site. The spreadsheets can be edited with a variety of software including OpenOffice and Google Docs. The site offers a range of budgeting templates that can help you manage all aspects of your finances including personal expenditure and weekly and monthly household expenses. These spreadsheets can be used by both amateurs and seasoned budgeters with little to no Ms Excel experience. Browse through other budgeting templates such as wedding templates to ensure that you implement an all-inclusive approach to finance management.
10. Family Budget Worksheet from A Mom’s Take
This template uses a unique approach to budgeting. It provides a section for long-term expenses and investments which is often overlooked by other budgeting templates yet play a crucial role in personal finance management. The template is suitable for household budgeting as it is made from a mother’s point of view.
11. Weekly Budget Template by Smartsheet
This free weekly budgeting template is downloadable through the attached link with no requirement for email submission. The free printable template is available as an excel budget template that can be customized through spread-sheet related software. This budget is suitable if you have a weekly or biweekly income schedule.
12. Free Monthly Budget Template By Mint
Mint is a software provision platform that provides various applications crucial for management of personal finances. This platform is quite efficient as it uses an all-in-one approach by congregating all aspects of personal finance management under one application. Through their apps, you are able to track your balances, bills, expenses, and even credit scores. You also have the flexibility of creating your individual budgets tailored to your needs. The platform provides a handy mobile application that allows you to constantly track your finances. Sign up on this site and begin managing your finances with a tested and proven way of money management!
13. Free Monthly Budget Template by Budget Templates
This budget spreadsheet template is simple with a coordinated color scheme that adds a fun and relaxed twist to budgeting. The budget template comes with an intuitive graphical depiction that helps you understand how your income relates to your expenses. An exhaustive list of monthly expenses are provided with a miscellaneous spending and income option that enables you to account for all income and bills. This budgeting template is suitable for a beginner budgeter with little to no experience of budgeting or Ms Excel software usage.
14. Free Simple Budget Planner by Personal Capital
Personal Capital is an all-inclusive wealth management platform that allows users to save, invest, and become more financially independent. The site offers both paid and free tools to help you manage and invest your finances. You are also able to conduct other financial-savvy processes like projecting your retirement goals and saving towards them. Signup to access the free budgeting templates that are available through both their website and mobile platforms.
15. Free Budget by Words of Williams
This is a monthly budget spreadsheet that is accessible through the attached link. The simple-to-use and easy-to-download budgeting template provides the opportunity to analyze your expenses and determine avenues for expense reduction. The excel budget sheet can be edited using spreadsheet conscious programs including Google spreadsheet. You can choose to tailor the budget to your income and expenses and print it to regulate your monthly income if you prefer printables or use it as an electronic budgeting template.
16. Paid Envelope Cash Budgeting System by Mvelopes ($4/month)
Mvelopes is a digital platform that provides an electronic medium to the envelope budgeting system created by Dave Ramsey. This digital approach enables you to assign cash for expenses and savings which can be accessed on the mobile platform. Tracking your expenditure has never been easier with this digital approach to envelope budgeting.
17. Free Budget Spreadsheets by SeedTime
This resource provides ten different budgeting templates that are accessible for free. Most of these templates are provided in Ms Excel and Google Docs format and are downloadable on the site. There are a number of budgeting templates ranging from household to monthly budgets. Go through the specifics of each template and select one that meets your needs then download through attached links at the bottom of each spreadsheet.
18. Free Every Dollar Dave Ramsey’s Monthly Budget App
The Every Dollar Budgeting App created by Dave Ramsey helps you tailor a budget to your income and expenses so that you can achieve your financial goals. Budgets can be created in less than ten minutes through a simple-to-use platform that integrates tested and proven approaches to personal finance management. All you have to do is sign up for the platform, add your monthly income, plan your expenses, and track your spending. This platform is suitable for both amateurs and seasoned budgeters as Ramsey considers the technicalities of creating and maintaining a budget in current financial constraints. The platform is also available as an android and IoS application.
19. Free Household Shopping List
Provided by Savvy Spreadsheets, this free household shopping budgeting template provides an exhaustive list of household items which you can tailor to your needs. One of the most common expenses that may affect your personal income is household expenses. Creating a shopping list and sticking to it is essential in having better control over your personal finances.
20. Paid and Free You Need A Budget App ($11.99/month)
YNAB helps you gain total control of your finances by enabling you to plan and track your expenditures, pay your debts, and save more money. The paid version of this system teaches users how to manage their finances and stay ahead. According to the site, new users are able to save an average of $600 in the first two months and more than $6000 in the first year of budgeting. The free version is only accessible through a 34 day trial period. This platform is suitable for an amateur who requires financial education to help in better management.
21. Zero-Based Budgeting Template by Enemy of Debt
This is a free zero-based budget provided by Enemy of Debt. Zero-based budgeting technique is a budgeting approach where your income minus expenses equal zero. This system compels you to allocate all your income to expenses, savings, and debt payments and is suitable for individuals with low-income and high debts. It allows for more accountability making it more efficient in debt payments. The free budget template is accessible through the above link that downloads it in an excel format. You need little to no experience to customize the sheet and begin implementing the budget.
22. Cash-Flow Budget from It’s Your Money
This is another free excel budgeting spreadsheet provided by It’s Your Money that is based on Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover approach to budgeting. This spreadsheet is adapted to provide users with a monthly cash flow plan that helps you reduce spending and debt and increase savings and investments. The spreadsheet is accessible through Ms Excel 2003 or later versions of the software and other platforms like Google Sheets.
23. Free Budget Spreadsheet (By Money Under 30)
This free monthly budget template provided by Money Under 30 is a simple and easy to use template that only requires you to enter your monthly income and expenses. The automated spreadsheet will help you track and pay your expenses without having the hassle of debt. As the blog suggests, this template is more suitable for people aged 30 and below as it is tailored for the needs of this demographic. The template is accessible as a Ms Excel spreadsheet that can be edited with a number of programs.
24. The Federal Trade Commission’s budget worksheet
Did you know that the FTC provides a free budgeting worksheet that can help you manage your personal finances? This free automated worksheet is provided in pdf format and enables you to determine how much money you spend versus how much you should be spending. The budget template accounts for an array of expenses and is suitable for all age groups and demographics as it considers other expenses like childcare and bank or credit card fees. If your income is more than your expenses then you are encouraged to save but if your expenses are more than your income then you are encouraged to cut down on spending to become more financially stable and eliminate debt.
25. Free Microsoft Office templates
Ms Office is a popular all-inclusive software that we use in or daily lives. The program provides an array of templates and applications that help simplify day-to-day digital activities. One of the most common yet underexploited aspects of Ms Office is their free templates. You can access thousands of free, automated, pre-built budgeting templates with useful and creative themes that can help you have better control over your finances. These templates can be used for any purposes and are suitable for both amateur and seasoned budgeters.
26. Free Google Drive spreadsheets
Just like Ms Office templates, Google Spreadsheets provide free, automated, and simple to use budgeting templates that can be accessed through their online platform. All you need is a google email and you are set to access free printable and digital budgeting assets. These templates are free alternatives to the paid subscription applications as they provide the same convenience and efficiency of the former platforms. You can find an array of budgeting templates that can be used for weekly, monthly, or occasional needs.
27. Free Vertex42™ budget templates
Vertex42™ provides more than 20 free budgeting excel templates that can be customized through Ms Excel, OpenOffice and Google Spreadsheets. The free budget templates cater to a variety of needs ranging from monthly to family budget planners. You can choose to either use the budgets as printables after customizing them to your needs or as electronic templates.
28. Free Retirement Budget Template by Smartsheet
This is another free budgeting template by Smartsheet that helps you create a retirement budget based on your age. The free excel template provides an automated way for planning for early retirement. The spreadsheet allows you to enter your current age and planned retirement age. It also allows you to adjust your savings goals according to the current inflation rate. This is a pretty nifty feature that will have you saving for early retirement and making sure that you meet your goals!
29. Household Budgeting Spreadsheet
This free to download budgeting spreadsheet will help you keep your monthly expenses at a minimum. The free spreadsheet is accessible through an email submission form with instant download.
30 Budgets are Sexy list of Free Budget Templates
Budgets are sexy provide a conclusive list of free budgeting templates that are customizable according to individual needs. The templates can either be accessed in printable or electronic formats and are provided as either excel or pdf formats. The list also comes with recommendations for different needs with some reviews. The spreadsheets are automated and include some applications for the premium options. The site also lists some of the most exclusive and best online budgeting sites that can either be accessed for free or at a cost.
31 Free Word of Williams Budgeting Sheet
Words of Williams provide a simple to use free budget template that is tailored for beginner budgeters. This budget is accessible through subscribing to their newsletter and provides a unique approach to budgeting. The site offers nine tips to make the spreadsheet more efficient including noting the date bills are due to help you know the due dates for paychecks, bolding expenses, provision of a fuel calculator that will help you determine the unexpected expense, budget billing for home providers, provision for automatic payments, integration of cash payments to cut down on digital expenses, color coordinated budget for easier coordination, budget savings plan, and provision for a new budget every four weeks.
32. Free Brideside Wedding Template
Brideside is a comprehensive go-to for designer bridal gowns and bridesmaid dresses that provides an updated free 2020 wedding budgeting template. This wedding budget spreadsheet is available through google docs. All you have to do is download the free template and tailor it to your needs. With the current pandemic, a wedding budget will help you determine the unexpected expenses that come with hosting a wedding during these times.
33. Personal budgeting spreadsheet My Money Blog
This personal budgeting printable budgeting template is provided by Money blog and is better suited for beginner budgeters. The template comes in a downloadable Excel format with expenses categorized as either variable or fixed with a column for remarks for miscellaneous costs. The budget sheet is categorized by month with different sheets for each month in the calendar year.
34. Free Printable Budget Templates List On Planners
On Planners lists a comprehensive list of free printable budget templates provided on different formats. According to the site, their version of free budget templates are customizable for everyone as they can work for college students who are looking for budgeting templates, parents who want to have more control over their household budgets, to professionals and creatives who need more control over their finances. The site also provides free planners that are easily downloadable and customizable!
35. Free Family Binder Budgeting Printable from Clean and Scentsible
Clean and Scentsible provide a binder of budgeting printables that address each aspect of personal finance management. The printables range from monthly budgeting sheets, debt tracking, budget overview, to bill tracking forms. The printables will enable you to organize your bills and income into trackable units. This template is suitable for both beginners and seasoned budgeters.
36. Monthly Budget Planner from Savor + Savvy
The Savor and Savvy is a lifestyle blog that provides advice ranging from personal finance to frugal living. The monthly budget planner is created for beginner budgeters with a step-by-step tutorial on how to organize and plan the printables for monthly budgeting. The free printables are accessible through email submission forms.
37. Printable Monthly Budget Planner from BobbiPrintables
Bobbi printables provides a free printable monthly budget planner that addresses monthly budgets, income, and expenses. This planner is designed for an individual looking to have more control over their expenses and income instead of other facial goals like savings and investment. The printables are available in five different color options including blue, gray, pink, purple, and no color. The printables are also in A4 size.
38. Free Printable Budget Sheet from Printable Crush
Printable crush provides a free and editable budget planner that is designed for beginner budgeters. The printable addresses crucial aspects of personal finance which are listed as expenses, debt, and income. The main goal of this printable is to help you track your expenses and pay your debts so that you can have extra money for savings and investments.
39. Free Budget Printable (Cash Envelope System) by Penny Pinchin’ Mom
The penny pinchin’ mom blog helps families take better care of their finances amongst other family-friendly advice. This blog is a wealth of resources that can help you become a better provider and manager of joint finances. The free budget printable is based on the envelope system introduced by Dave Ramsye that has proven quite useful in dealing with household management of finances. The printable provides popular cash envelope groups that range from groceries to dining out to help you create a more defined and accountable financial system at home.
40 A Basic Zero-Based Budget from the Simple Organized Home
Zero-based budgets are increasingly popular and becoming more mainstream. This free budget printable is based on Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University and lists some of the important takeaways from the seminar. These tackeways are integrated into this planner to help married couples have better control over their finances. While this planner is more suited to married couples, it can be adjusted and tailored to other people. You do not have to be a seasoned budgeter to use this as it is simple and easy to customize provided in odf format.
41. Free Printable Family Budget Worksheets from Money Saving Mom
Money Saving Mom is another family-centric blog that provides advice more suited for families. This site provides an array of free printables ranging from keyword games for children to budget printables for adults. Browse through their printable section and select a budget template that is better suited to your needs.
42. Budgeting With the 50/30/20 Rule from The Land of Milk and Honey
The 50/30/20 Rule is regarded as one of the easiest and simplest ways of budgeting. In this rule 50% goes to your needs, 30% goes to your wants, and 20% goes to your goals. These calculations are made after tax and attributed towards predefined expenses and goals. To be successful at using this approach, you need to know how to differentiate between your needs and wants. For instance, your electric bill is a need while eating out is a want. You cannot survive without addressing your needs but you can survive without addressing your wants. The Land of Milk and Honey provides a free budgeting planner accessible through email submission.
43. Free Simple Monthly Budget Worksheet from Gathering Dreams
This monthly budget worksheet provides a four step process to money management. The monthly budgeting worksheet is created with color coordinated elements that make budgeting fun, simple, and easy. The worksheet addresses your income, expenses, and savings and investments. It also helps you determine your net income (Income minus savings and expenses) which helps you have a better understanding of how to build your net worth and manage your assets.
44. Free Printable Budget for Beginners from Cape and Apron
This a free printable budget planner designed for beginners looking to improve their financial status and net worth. The budget template helps you track your expenses and debt through automated spreadsheets that can be customized and printed. You can also choose to print the sheet and work on it offline. If you print it before customizing, print a couple of sheets as a rough draft until you get the hang of it.
As mentioned earlier, Budgets are easy, make it fun and easy for beginners to become more financially independent through step-by-step budgeting tutorials and templates. Download this free planner if you are looking for a beginner-friendly budgeting starter guide that will help you take control over your finances.
46. Free Budgeting worksheet by Money Manifesto
The free budgeting worksheet by Working Manifesto will help you learn how to budget. This worksheet is accessible through email submission with an linked list of curated free worksheets if the attached one does not meet your needs. This budgeting worksheet takes a unique approach to budgeting by breaking down expenses and income sources with monthly totals to show you how much you spend on bills versus how much you earn. The color coordination scheme makes it easier, fun, and simpler to budget!
47. Financialdemics Budget Template
This is a free monthly budget template that is accessible through an email submission form. The template is created for beginners interested in attaining their financial goals through debt payment and investments.
48. Cents And Purpose’s Free Budget Printable Worksheets
Cents and Purpose provide a free printable budget worksheet alongside a free workbook on why you need to budget and how you can begin budgeting. This workbook breaks down budgeting to a fun and easy process that will help you have better control of your money and meet your financial goals. The free budget workbook is more suited for beginner budgeters but can also be used by seasoned budgeters looking for a monthly budget that addresses income, expenses, and investments. According to the website this is a budget template for people who suck at budgeting.
49. Young And The Invested Excel Budget
This site helps people excel at budgeting by providing tutorials on how they can create budgets in excel and other programs. The tutorials analyze why people need budgets and how you can become financially independent even if you live paycheck to paycheck. You can choose to have a free excel budget template delivered to you through your email or design yours using the tools and tutorials provided on the site.
Nerdwallet is a renowned personal finance website that provides a free customizable budget planner which helps you decide on how best to spend your income while simultaneously reducing or avoiding debt and saving. This worksheet is customizable on the site where an automated responsive form is used to determine your income and expenses. The form can then be downloaded and used as a monthly budget. You can also automate your budget with Nerdwallet by signing up for their budget planning program.
Conclusion
Budgeting is an integral step in becoming financially independent. This process is often written off as a strenuous, challenging, and boring venture. However, the above templates show that budgeting can also be simple and fun! These templates can be used by both beginner and seasoned budgeters! The templates also cover all financial and occupational statuses. Take control of your finances by downloading the above free budgeting printable templates and begin your journey into financial independence and early retirement!
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