![]() ![]() ![]() Manually summing cells is time-consuming, but Google Sheets and Excel makes it easy with formulas. A column showing the difference between the two, so you can see a complete picture of your progressĤ: Use simple formulas to minimize your time commitment.A column for actual income and expenses.A column for your budgeted income and expenses.Regardless of the budget period, you’ll want to create three columns: They then extrapolate the budget out to a year. In fact, most budget apps and software track income and expenses by month. You can also use multiple budget periods simultaneously. How much time you want to spend updating your budget spreadsheet.How closely you want to monitor your finances.You may want to budget daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or yearly. This is especially helpful if you’re trying to reduce your expenses in a specific area of your finances. If you find that specificity helps you maintain better control of your finances, you may want to add subcategories to more closely track certain expenses. Debt Payments – Car payments, student loans, etc.Savings – This can include emergency funds, retirement savings, etc.Transfers – credit card payments, automated savings, etc.Expenses – These will be most of your categories.Income – You may track some or all income, depending on your goals. ![]() Within your categories, it’s helpful to track your: You only need enough categories to encompass all your income and expenses without creating unnecessary complexity. Some people budget with as few as three categories – or even one! While there isn’t a “right” number of categories, at Tiller, we suggest keeping your categories simple. To help get you started, here’s a list of 20 suggested budget categories. That’s why every budget should begin with choosing your categories, regardless of your preferred budgeting method. Or open a new workbook in Excel: 2: Choose your budget categoriesīudget categories are essential for tracking your expenses and income over time. On the left sidebar, click “New” and “Google Sheet.” "And I got to talking to you, I realized that it definitely changed my life, so I don't know why that wouldn't extend to other people.Go to your Google Drive account. "I don't think I ever really thought that something as stupid as an Excel spreadsheet could change anyone's life," Celes said. People have reached out to say it helped them get out of credit-card debt, save for a house, and cultivate a healthier mindset around money. Others who found the spreadsheet through Reddit have also made financial strides. Her credit score has also improved and her spending anxiety has lessened, she said. And honestly, that to me is the most meaningful thing." "That kind of security and that feeling of safety is something that I had never had up until this point. "We recently had some emergencies come up and I was able to comfortably afford everything without fearing that suddenly I would be left with nothing," Celes said. Over the last four years, she built a $10,000 savings cushion. "I realized that I wanted the savings to be kind of like an expense, so I added it in a weird way so it would almost hide my savings from me. The spreadsheet includes a separate tab for factoring in big-ticket items. At the very top of the spreadsheet: how much you have left to spend for the day, week, or month. There are separate calculators for big-ticket purchases and regular savings, plus a goal tracker to log savings progress and setbacks. Savings takes center stage in the current budget template, which Celes shared on the r/personalfinance Reddit channel, a community with 14.6 million members, in May. "I kind of realized that I needed to be more responsible with how I was working on the spreadsheet and adding things to it and making sure to kind of keep that initial goal of keeping it simple, but also taking the time to help teach people responsible financial practices." A better budget led to more savings and less anxiety "One of the things that I really wanted to focus on when I was making it was it for someone who didn't know anything about money," she said. There wasn't a section in the budget for credit-card payments or savings for big purchases, but as Celes expanded her financial knowledge, she enhanced the spreadsheet, too. She shared the first iteration of her spreadsheet on Reddit three years ago. There's a daily "spendable" amount at the top of the budget that's customizable. ![]()
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