How To Make A Budget: 12 Easy Ways To Do It (The Complete Guide)

If you have tried to save money, spend less, improve credit, or build wealth at some point in the past, chances are you’ve heard that making a budget is a huge step in achieving your goal.

If you’re anything like the previous version of me, then chances are you read the words about making a budget, they proceeded through your eyes, reached your brain, and were immediately disregarded. “I’ll just watch my spending and the money will save itself up eventually. I don’t need a budget…”

Flat. Out. Wrong.

Does a surgeon cut into someone’s chest and think, “A little patch here, stint there, maybe some stitching in this region, then this heart should basically heal itself?”

No. They have a detailed plan.

A football coach makes a game plan each week (topical and timely analogy). When a president proposes to balance a budget what do they present to Congress? In addition to a little black magic, that president would have a detailed plan.

Your budget is the HOW when your family comes up with a plan to save for a trip, get out of debt, or open a business.

The idea of a vacation is amazing (you know I love ‘em) but do you know what’s better? Paying cash for that vacation, doing so earlier, and having money to spend once you get there. Fact is, the best way to make a vacation a worry-free endeavor financially is to have a budget.

First I want to convince you why making a budget is in your best interests, then we’ll go over how it’s done.

Why should you make a budget?

• It’s easy to do. Roughly a 1-2 hour initial investment followed by 30 minutes a week is a small price to pay for financial freedom.

• You learn a metric ton about your spending habits. To make a budget you literally track every dollar from your paycheck to its final resting place in your debit column. This can shed a suns eternity of light on where you may be overspending and where you can trim the fat.

• This is the tool that allows you to achieve your goals. Taking vacations, starting businesses, paying off debts, learning to live off less so you can make less money and still live comfortably.

• Your communication skills improve. When you realize your phone bill is $150.37/month, you can’t pick up the phone fast enough to craft a strategic argument with the ‘poor Verizon rep’ on the other end of the phone. 

• Budget crafting puts you in charge of your money. However bleak that first budget looks, you start making choices about what is most important to you, thus what needs cash thrown at it and what can wait. The picture may not be pretty at first, but you’ll be able to work toward buying things with the money you already have rather than the money you plan to earn next week (dangerous practice!!).

How to make a budget

It all starts with a spreadsheet. If you’re at a loss with excel (numbers for us Mac users), send me an email and I’ll send you a template we’ve used.

This process will sound elementary and pretty straightforward but that’s one of the reasons why I love it. This is simple math that when used appropriately can allow you to live the life you dream of.

Gather these items from the last year –

• Paystubs
• All bills (utilities, car payments, phone bill, blue apron type stuff, childcare, etc.)
• Credit card statements (this can be especially helpful if you pay bills through your credit card)
• Personal account statements (checking, savings, retirement, and the like)
• Mortgage/rent history
• All other financial documents

We will use YOUR spending habits over the last year to make realistic assumptions about what your spending will be in the future.

There are also a few online resources that many people use to help keep better track of their accounts. The one I use and recommend is Mint.

It’s free, effective, and secure. Mint links all of your accounts into one centralized location which helps you to see the bigger picture a little easier.

You track all of your accounts, make budgets, create savings goals, in addition to a number of other capabilities. It can be a great resource – check it out and use this if you’d prefer.

Once we have all your information together in one place, start with your income

How much money do you have coming in each month? If you’re not a salary or hourly earner, go with the average – it’s not perfect but it is a solid option. That figure goes into your debit (positive) column.

Next, (controversial alert) decide on a percentage you will save each month and allocate that percentage or dollar amount into your credit (negative) column as the first entry (10% is what we shoot for. It’s aggressive, yes, but a powerful target if achievable).

I covered paying yourself first in detail earlier, but for now – trust me. This is the money that goes into your savings, retirement, or other account for a future day. You will not spend this money now. And yes, you are paying yourself first, before we cover other bills.

Segue… Next add all of your essential expenses to the credit column – mortgage/rent, utilities, car payments, groceries, gas for your car, internet (if necessary or if you work from home), … You know what you need.

If you’re temporarily forgetting though, I’m here to say you don’t need money allocated to go out to eat. We’re talking essentials here, the things we need to live, be sheltered, fed, to earn an income, and to care for our family.

After this, we need to step back and reflect on what your sum looks like (all of the credits subtracted from your initial debits).

Is there money left over? If yes, awesome! Now you have some fun choices to make. If not, don’t worry. I’ve been there and I know it’s no fun. Taking this step to make a budget is your first step in one day answering the above question with, “Yes, I’ve got money left over.”

If yes – Now decide if you’ll allocate money for entertainment, additional saving, a vacation (I’m winking and saying, “Ehh??” to this one right now), charity, … The choice is yours but what I don’t want you to do is not have a plan. A plan gives you structure and the ability to say, “No,” when presented with an option to pay for something on an impulse. If it’s not in the plan, it’s not in the credit column.

If no – now we have some tougher questions. Can you earn more? Take on additional hours, another job, or ask for a raise? Start a side-hustle, go into business for yourself, … a Myriad of options exist and if you’re able, now’s the time to try one out.

Can you spend less? Get a smaller house/apartment, shop around for internet rates, use a consistent payment plan for your utilities, or try a spending freeze. These options aren’t sexy but they will help you to increase your debit column, thus ease your financial woes.

It’s all well and good to have a great plan, it’s another thing to execute that plan properly 

Sir Winston Churchill – “However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.” You will take this advice and institute a weekly meeting with you and all the others responsible for your family’s budget (spouse, significant other, etc.). 

Pick one half hour time period for one day each week – we chose Sunday evenings. This is a nuts and bolts meeting, meaning you’re straight to the point in analyzing the previous week and making small course corrections for the week ahead.

How did we do, where did the money go, and what do we need to do next week to either maintain or improve? These meetings are where you figure out if your plan is foolproof or just a mythical great idea. Don’t forget the best part though – if last week was terrible, tomorrow is a new day. Make the changes necessary to get where you need to go!

The power of the budget is real

My hisband I have used one for the past 8 years and it’s helped us get control of our finances, understand our goals, and communicate more effectively about ‘family business’ issues. If you want to make significant financial changes or just keep a good financial situation going, a budget is the tool you should use.

It’s not all doom and gloom either. The first months and years were rough. We watched every dollar as we learned our spending habits and made tough decisions about not spending money we didn’t have.

It was stressful and not always the best thing in the world, but what I did enjoy is that we had a plan. There was a light at the end of the tunnel and because we knew how we could get there, we had hope. 

Now that we’re closer to that light, and we have almost a decade of practice following our budget, it’s not a chore at all. We still have the game plan but we can afford to check-in less often because the behaviors are ingrained in our financial brains.

Who knew budgeting could become second nature?

What should my budget be?

A budget should be realistic not idealistic. It should include everything that you spend your money on. Some of these categories include:

• Housing
• Groceries
• Utilities
• Transportation
• Loan payments
• Emergency fund
• Child care
• Among others

A lot of people tend to not include one-time, yearly expenses like home insurance. These types of expenses must still be included. You could spread them out to 12 months or place them in a month when you’re supposed to pay them.

How do you make a simple budget?

In the grand scheme of things, a budget or a spending plan should include the following steps:

• Step 1: Calculate your income (monthly)
• Step 2: Add together your fixed monthly expenses that could include utilities, child care, among others
• Step 3: Set your financial goals. Ask yourself why you’re doing a spend plan. What is your ultimate goal? Do you want to pay off credit card debt fast or save money for emergencies or something else?
• Step 4: Find and calculate your discretionary expenses or your variable expenses like mortgage insurance that is charged on a yearly basis (rather than monthly). That said, you can spread the expenses in 12 months for consistency purposes.
• Step 5: Subtract your income from your expenses
• Step 6: Implement, monitor, and, if necessary, adjust your budget to fit your needs. That said, stick with it as much as you can. The reason that it’s there is for you to use it as a guide. Changing it again and again simply defeats the purpose of doing it.

Benefits of Budgeting

It’s hard to make a budget or even create a budget plan template when you don’t know the benefits of doing it. So it’s a fair assumption to include the benefits of budgeting in this post.

Long-Term Financial Goals Can Be Realized

When you budget your money and exactly know where your money is going on, you can reach your long-term financial goals much easily.

The truth is, it’s hard to go from point A to point B when you don’t know where you are going.

Here’s the thing:

If you have school loans that you want to pay off quickly, use your budget or budgeting skills to find a proper way to reduce or pay off those loans.

Want to earn some extra money to help you to achieve your financial goals? Try sharing your opinions and filling out surveys with Survey Junkie or delivering food (part-time) with UberEats or DoorDash.

Ability to Pay the Bills

When you budget your money, you’ll have a piece of mind knowing you’ll be able to pay the bills when they are due.

Believe it or not:

In addition to paying your bills when they’re due, if you effectively budget your money, you’d be able to pay more than the minimum on your credit cards or other debts, which would help you pay off debts more quickly.

Here’s another scenario, if you pay your bills late, you’ll see extra expenses added on. This means that having a budget in place can and will make this problem less likely to happen.

Access to Money for Emergency Purposes

Life is uncertain, at times. You’ll never know when you’re going to need money.

That’s a fact of life.

When you have a budget and are able to save money fast, you can fork out funds when an emergency situation arises.

Here’s the reality:

Whether you need to pay medical bills or need money for immediate house repairs, you can take money out from your emergency fund with ease.

Here is a statistic:

Roughly 63% of Americans don’t even have savings to cover a $1,000 emergency.

Here’s a scarier fact:

Around 34% of American households have gone through what’s considered as a major unexpected expense in the past.

How To Make A Budget: 11 Comprehensive Ways To Do It Like A Pro

Let’s jump in and so you can learn how to budget your money like a pro:

Step 1: Decide to Start a Budget

Are you sick of reaching the end of the month wondering where all your money went?

I know I was. I exactly know how and what you are feeling. I’ve been there. 

Good news? It doesn’t have to be that way—that’s a huge reason why my wife and I started budgeting in the first place.

Ripping off the debt band-aid and creating a budget even a monthly budget is one of the hardest parts. In fact, 47 percent of Americans say they’re not keeping track of their income and expenses because they don’t even know where to start.

By just merely reading this article, you’ve made a massive step towards financial freedom! It’s your first step to learning how to budget your money and create a budget online or offline. 

Now, let’s get down to business. Next step? Choosing a budgeting style that suits you best.

Step 2: How to Make a Budget Plan – Find the Best Method for You

Another staggering statistic for you:

Even for those starting their budgeting journey, seven in ten will struggle to stick with it.

Why is that? Well, a big reason could be due to not picking the right budgeting method.

I’ve also wondered “how to make a monthly budget work.” However I’ve been fortunate to try many different budgeting methods, and, in the end, some options just work better than others.

Budget 101 Tip: There is no-one-size-fits-all method to track spending. You need a budget method that matches your specific needs.

Here’s the thing:

You can find a personal budget example or two online. You can start from there and tweak those for yourself.

If you’re still having a hard time making a budget work for you, here are a few of the most common methods:

50/30/20 Budgeting Method

The 50-30-20 budgeting method is almost a foolproof way to budget. It’s good for those just first creating a budget who also want to get in the habit of giving money a purpose.

For this budget, you to take your home income (your income after taxes, health insurance premiums and other expenses that are taken out of your paycheck) and divide it into three parts:

• 50% goes toward necessities like housing, electricity, gasoline, groceries and the water bill.
• 20% should go towards discretionary items like dining out or going to the movies.
• 30% goes toward saving or debt repayment.

Pay Yourself First Budget

With this budget, it’s all about how much you’re going to save rather than how much you’re going to cut back, making it great for those that tend to see the big picture and can never seem to make a budget stick.

Here’s how it works:

Write down how much you want to put into your savings each month and then subtract that from your take-home income.

One of the best strategies is to automate money towards your savings or investments like Acorns – it enables you to invest cents – and not think about those funds. Next thing you know, you’d have money saved and invested.

Whatever is left over is yours to spend freely to pay bills, dine out or whatever else you need or want.

You’ll love: 5 Cute Free Budget Printable Templates to Organize your Finances

The ‘No’ Budget

As it sounds, the no budget method is not about crunching numbers each month. If you find yourself with extra money availability every single month, this method may be for you!

How does it work? Subtract what you must pay each month from your take-home income.

Envelope System

With this budget, you can see exactly how to budget your money for specific categories by simply taking a quick peek in your envelopes.

This method can help those learning how to make a budget stay on track. It forces discipline and holds you accountable.

How to get started? Divide up your discretionary spending into envelopes by category. When you pay for something, you use the money only from the corresponding envelope. And, when it’s gone, it’s gone.

That’s it. How easy is that?

Zero-Based Budget

Last but not least is the zero-based budget.

This budget is a method of budgeting where each dollar is assigned income tasks. Meaning if you’re doing it correctly, there should be no money left over.

Dave Ramsey budget tips put it like this:

“If you cover all your expenses during the month and have $500 left over, you aren’t done with the budget yet. You must tell that 500 bucks where to go. If you don’t, you lose the chance to make it work for you in the areas of getting out of debt, saving for an emergency, investing, paying off the house, or growing wealth. Tell every dollar where to go. Doing so makes a huge difference.”

How does zero-based budget work? It’s pretty simple:

Create a list of repeat expense categories and amounts spent in each and every month. Then take your take-home pay and minus the expense categories. Again, your goal is to hit zero, so, if you have anything left you should add that remaining amount to next month’s budget or move it to another category.  

Step 3: Decide How You’ll Track Things

How to make a monthly budget doesn’t end one the first two steps. Remember, if everyone could easily magic his/her way to an effective budget plan template or a working budget, then, everyone would be saving a lot of money now.

Now that you have figured out the best budgeting method to fit your needs, it’s time to decide how you’ll track it with a budgeting tool.

These tools are probably your best helpers when you’re still figuring out how to create a budget from scratch.

You can even create a budget online.

While there are lots of budget tools to help in making a budget, many are over complicated and can become confusing to use. And want does confusion lead to? In this case, it could lead to you quitting budgeting altogether.

No!

Don’t let it happen.

Here are a few of my favorites to keep you on track:

• Use a Budget Worksheet: Seems simple and inexpensive, right? That’s because it is! In fact, there are many free budget worksheets available. I personally like the household budget worksheet offered by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance because it allows for customization and downloading.

Best Budgeting Apps:

• Digit makes it easy saving money easy and passive by analyzing your spending automatically and saving the perfect amount every day. You literally set it and forget it. This best budget app is great those in the budget 101 phase and looking to build good habits by saving more and spending less.
• Personal Capital makes it easy to track and manage your financial life. This best budget app can be used for planning for future financial goals such as retirement, saving towards college, buying a house, and more. The app also has the tools to analyze your investments and tell if you are on track.

Step 4: Figure Out Your After-Tax Income

Great!

Now that you’ve passed the first three steps on how to learn how to make a budget, it’s time to get down to the numbers.

Now that you’ve decided your personal budget method and how to track things, you need to know how much income you’re bringing in each month.

As you probably know, your salary or an hourly rate agreed upon when you got the job is not what you take home. To understand what your after-tax income is, just look at your past pay stubs.

Step 5: Break expenses into two categories: fixed and variable

A big part of making a budget or a knowing how to make a monthly budget is figuring out where you can make adjustments. A great way to start out is to figure out your fixed and variable expenses.

Fixed expenses are the things that stay the same every month. These include your mortgage or rent, car payments, and internet services.

Variable expenses are thing things that can change from month to month. These included such things as groceries, entertainment, and gifts.

Step 6: Know What You Owe

Did you know 2 out of 3 Americans don’t know when, or if, they will ever be debt-free?

Even those who see the light at the end of the tunnel believe they will take nine years to become debt-free.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could pay your debts off faster? Ugh, yes.

Did you know 2 out of 3 Americans don’t know when, or if, they will ever be debt-free?

Well, knowing what you owe and evaluating your progress each month can help. When you know what’s going out for recurring debt payments, you can effectively create a plan of attack to pay those babies down month by month.

It may be tough to do, but it’s important to sit down and start tackling your debt. Here are two things that helped us:

• List Out Debt and Create a Payment Plan: You can use the Dave Ramsey budget, the snowball method (pay off smaller debts first), or the debt avalanche method (pay off high-interest debt first). Remember, no matter what method you use, make sure you are making at least the minimum payments on all debts each month.
• Evaluate Your Progress Often: To keep up your energy and motivation, make sure you’re regularly checking your progress. A good rule of thumb is to check your progress every month.

Step 7: See Where You Are Currently Spending

Small amounts add up, creating big debts that you may find hard to pay off. So, financial awareness is a crucial component to getting your finances on track.

In essence: To build wealth you need to stop wasting money.

The best way to do this? See where you are currently spending.

The 50-20-30 method can be used here to evaluate where you’re spending and whether you’re making a smart decision with your money.

What is the 50 20 30 budget rule?

Let’s quickly review the 50-20-30 method:

• Allocate 50% of Your Income to Needs. This includes necessities like housing, electricity, gasoline, groceries and the water bill.
• Allocate 20% of Your Income to Debt Repayment and Savings. Debts include paying down such things as your credit cards and student loans.

If you’re looking to pay down credit cards debt faster, then you should check out the app Tally. How does it work? Tally will pay off your high-interest cards and then charge you a lower interest rate on the same balance. Save time and money. 

Are you paying more than 15% interest on any of your debts? If so, another good way to help you pay down your debt faster is to open up a SoFi personal loan. With low personal loan interest rates and a fixed monthly payment, you can get loans to pay off credit cards or pay off high-interest debt. 

For savings, you’re leaving money on the table if you do not open a high-yield savings account. Right now, with just $100, you can open a CIT Money Market account, which currently offers one of the highest interest rates on it’s saving accounts at 2.45% APY (that’s over 11 times the national average!). 

Allocate 30% of Your Income to Wants. This includes discretionary items like dining out or going to the movies.  

Are you within the ranges set by the 50-20-30 method? If not, this could lead to a personal budget deficit. What is a budget deficit? It means your spending more than your earning. Before that happens, you may consider finding ways to cut back.

Step 8: Set Your Priorities

Learning how to make a budget goes above and beyond just numbers.

You probably already have a list of financial goals…

…saving for retirement, minimizing debt, buying a home (and likely a few others, too!)…

Anyone can save for multiple goals, but doing so successfully means setting priorities.

I recommend you start with one of these:

• Build an Emergency Fund: According to Dave Ramsey’s budgeting tips, “the secret to being ready for your next ‘unexpected’ expense is to go ahead and expect it.” He recommends saving it as fast as you can, because without it, you may feel like you have to go into debt to cover a surprise expense. You’re not doing debt anymore, remember? So start saving that $1000 today!

Again, if you don’t already have a high-yield savings account, I highly recommend you open one. Check out the CIT Money Market deal I noted in Step 7.

• Pay Off High-Interest Debt: If you have debt (which many of us do), paying it off needs to be a top priority. Start early and chip away at it frequently. Always try paying more than your minimum payment, especially off your highest-interest debt. Once you’ve paid off a debt completely, consider putting that same monthly amount toward retirement or savings, which I’ll cover next.

Also, if you are paying more than 15% interest on any of your debts, SoFi could really help you pay down your debt faster. More information about SoFi in Step 7.

• Get a Full Employer Match on Your 401(k): One of your most important financial goals should be getting your employer’s full 401(k) match. It’s FREE money, so you’d be silly to leave it on the table if you have the funds to make the necessary contributions.

Of course, not all 401(k)s are created equal, and a lot have hidden management fees that can eat up your retirement savings. One way to see if your 401(k) is working for you is to use Blooom.

Bloom will find those hidden fees, tell you if your portfolio is aggressive or not, and let you know if you’re missing out by DIYing your 401(k). 

Set Up Automated Saving for Retirement: While lower on the priority list than building an emergency fund or paying off high-interest debts, setting up an automatic savings withdrawal for retirement is always an excellent financial goal to pursue. If you never see it, you won’t be tempted to spend it, right?

Step 9: Subtract your income from expenses

Knowing what money you have coming in each month versus what is going out is key to achieving financial freedom.

To do this, you can use the zero-based budget method. Again, it’s really simple. All you have to do is subtract your expenses from your income.

Here’s how to evaluate the number you get:

• Positive Number: You have more than you spend. Depending on where you are in your debt journey, consider putting the surplus dollars into a savings account or putting the cash towards paying off more debt.
• Break Even: You have exactly enough money. You may consider adjusting your budget so you have money in the event that expenses come up that you didn’t plan for.
• Negative Number: You’re in a personal budget deficit. What is a budget deficit? You’re spending more than you’re earning. A good way to adjust your budget is to decrease your non-essential spending.

Step 10: Track Your Progress

Keeping connected to your personal budget plan can help you stay on track and meet your money goals. Tracking how you’re spending your money only takes a few minutes, so it can easily be done.

For example, a family using Dave Ramsey budget tips put a debt thermometer in their kitchen to keep track of their progress. By keeping their eye on the prize, they paid off $105,000 in two years!

Here are a few ways to stay focused on tracking:

• Set a Reminder or Use an App: If you are using a monthly budget worksheet, creating a reminder (think a sticky note or appointment on the calendar) can be very helpful in forming a habit to track your money. There are also apps out there that do all the work for you. For example, you can use Personal Capital, which are explained in more detail in Step 3.
• Check Transactions Daily: Carve out a few minutes at the same time each day to list out your purchases. You’re good to go if you didn’t make any purchases that day, but, if you did you, write those down. It’s also a good way to keep a pulse on your daily spending habits and quickly identify ways to decrease your non-essential spending.

Step 11: Re-Evaluate and Make Adjustments

A key to how to create a monthly budget that works for you is to know your needs and goals will change, and, therefore, your budget will change, too!

From starting a new job to getting married, to having your first child, there are many life events that will change your financial situation.

You could be missing a lot of opportunities to improve your finances if you’re not keeping an eye on your monthly budget during these life moments!

It can be easy to lose sight of budgeting, let alone evaluating your budgeting, when a major life event happens.

Resist the temptation and make sure you’re asking yourself these questions on a regular basis:

Is my budget helping me reach my goals? This will usually be pretty straightforward, but if something significant changes, this is your time to make adjustments.

Where are areas I can improve my budget? This is so crucial, so I’m repeating it again: Always be evaluating where you can cut costs. Saving a few bucks a day might not seem like much, but it can really add up over time.

Tips For Successful Budgeting

Budgeting can be tough but it can be done. Here are different tips and tricks to create a budget system or just learn how to budget money on a low income:

How to start

This section is a summary of the details mentioned above. To create a budget plan online or offline, here’s the detailed information you need:

• Decide to start a budget <— that’s the first step
• Find the best method for you
• Decide how you’ll track things
• Figure out your after-tax income
• Break expenses into two categories (fixed and variable)
• Know what you owe
• See where you are currently spending
• Set your priorities
• Subtract your income from expenses
• Track your progress
• Re-evaluate and make adjustments

What to do with different circumstances

Here are different ways to handle budgeting for different situations like low income, savings for a new home, etc..:

How to make a monthly budget on a low income

• Get a handle on grocery expenses. By keeping a check on how much you spend on groceries, you’d be able to put more money into savings each month. 
• Buy only when necessary. Only buy what you need and, sometimes, buy what you want. You don’t need to deprive yourself just because you’re trying to make a budget online or offline.
• Get and stay out of debt. By paying off your debt and staying out of debt, your putting interest payments at bay, which means savings on your part. 
• Keep your housing costs at bay. Housing costs are a killer. Keep your housing costs low and don’t buy or rent more than what you need. When you do this, you’ll be able to save more money and easily create a budget system that works for you now and for years to come.
• Keep your entertainment costs in check. There’s no problem with going out, eating out, going to the parties, that is, when you keep those in check. Put a budget on how much you will spend on entertainment (the lower it is, the better).
• Automate your savings. The best to learn how to save money is to save automatically. When you have a direct deposit, stash a portion of your money to your savings, investments, among others. This way, you won’t notice that you’re saving money (but you really are).

How to save money to buy a house

• Decide what kind of house. Decide what kind of house you need or want to buy. Is it a single-family house, a multi-family home, or something else? This will help you figure out how much you need for a house payment, downpayment, among others.
• Earn more money. Believe it or not, the best way to save money fast is to earn more money. IF you don’t have enough time in a day, the best thing to do is to make money online. Some of the best ways to earn extra are taking paid online surveys, freelancing, taking on additional work from jobs, to name a few.
• Determine how much you can afford monthly. The less money you need to shell out for your house, the better. The rule of thumb is to spend no more than 25% of your take-home pay (monthly) on your mortgage.
• Aim for between 10% and 20% for a down payment. If you want to save money, you’d want to put down around 20%. This can lower your interest rate and help you avoid that pesky private mortgage insurance (PMI).
• Reduce your expenses. Aside from increasing your income, one great way to save money for a house is to reduce your expenses. The more expenses you cut, the more savings you’ll have for your house payment or down payment.

How to start a budget when you’re in debt

• List your income and necessary expenses. Figure out how much money is coming in and how much expenses are you paying. This will help you determine what your net savings or loss is.
• Analyze your spending. You need to understand where your money is going. Until you do this, you won’t be able to save enough money to pay off other financial responsibilities you may have.
• List your non-essential expenses. Before you can make a budget, you also need to understand your non-essential expenses. You’re not really trying to cut them out right away. To make a working budget system, you need to know what expenses are.
• Assemble your budget. Since you have all this information, it’s now time for you to make an actual budget. You’ll then learn if you’re short or have a surplus.
• Find out how much is left over. Once you determine what’s left after all expenses are accounted for, you now can understand what to do next.
• Fund your emergency account. If it’s a surplus, then, you can fund your emergency account, then, pay additional on your debts, or something else. When it comes to paying off debt, make sure to tailor your debt to fit your budget or budget system. This means that think of ways to pay as much within your budget level. You can consolidate debt and pay off a lower monthly payment, pay the debt with high APR, or some other ways to pay off debt.
• Work on a side hustle. If it’s a loss, then, you may need to figure out some side hustle ideas to earn you money. You can also consider some passive income ideas to help you generate money month after month.

How to create a budget for college

• List the cost of college. The first thing you need to do is list the cost of your college education. This includes your tuition, fees, estimated costs of books, meal plan (if you’re on a school meal plan), and in-house/off-campus housing.
• List your everyday expenses. You’ll have expenses outside the school premises. This includes, but are not limited to, transportation, food, entertainment, and rent (if you’re living off-campus). You need to account for everything you plan on spending.
• Create your total costs for the whole year. When you’ve collected the first two information, it’s now time to put them together. Make sure you total your costs on an annual basis, that is, one month cost times 12 months. Try to see if you can cut down on some other expenses.
• Determine how much money you’ll have. If you are working, calculate how much you’ll have on an annual basis. Your income should include part-time savings, summer job, work from home jobs, grants. As much as possible, avoid taking out student loans.  You’ll find other ways to make money from home.
• Follow your budget (but not to a tee). When you’ve put all the information above together, it’s now time to follow your budget. That said, you need to be flexible at times in case some emergency situations arise.

Samples of Budget Plan Templates

Here are some samples of budget plan templates you can use or start with. They’re not something you have to stick to. They’re just guidelines you can tweak to meet your needs.

Budget Planner by Shining Mom!

The Shining Mom Budget Planner is good for those who want an all-inclusive planner designed to eliminate the super overwhelming part of budgeting by making each page simple, easy to use, and practical.

Use this planner in addition to the best grocery apps, and you’d be looking at saving money.

What’s included? With over 30 printable pages, this includes financial goals sheet, household budget template, meal planner, bills trackers, weekly budget, monthly cash flow tracker, planner covers, motivational quotes, and more!

Download the Shining Mom Budget Planner today.

Budget Planner by Home Printables

Home Printables’s budget planner has over 15 budgeting worksheets to help you organize your finances and grow your savings. These worksheets are printable (of course).

It’s probably one of the best personal budgets out there.

These printables are focused on savings and improving your spending habits. The planner consists of a vision board, financial goals board, cash flow chart, monthly check-in sheet, monthly household budget template, weekly budget, spending log, bills tracker, checklist, and more.

Download the Budget Planner by Home Printables today.

Printable Budget Planning Worksheets by Uncluttered Simplicity

Budgeting doesn’t have to be boring at all. The Printable Budget Planning Worksheets by Uncluttered Simplicity will not disappoint you with its colorful polka-dot design.

This planner is designed for those looking for a budget template for monthly planning to manage your income and spending.

Download the Printable Budget Planning Worksheets by Uncluttered Simplicity today!

Click here to find more budget templates you can use. 

How to make a monthly budget FAQs

How do I make a simple budget?

You can create a budget online or offline with such ease. There’s always All you need to do is follow the information below:

• Set your own goal. That’s the first thing you need to do.
• Determine your income. List all your sources of income and how much.
• List your expenses. List down all your expenses for both necessary and unnecessary.
• Adjust variable expenses. Be flexible (but not too flexible) on some of your expenses.
• Plan your spending. Make sure you account for all the spending you anticipate on making.
• Monitor your budget. You’ve done your part. Now, it’s time to monitor and adjust it as necessary.

How can I budget better money?

There’s no hard and fast rule on creating a budget to better manage your money. That said, here are some of the few ideas that you can start implementing as a guide to help you figure out what you can do better look into your finances:

• Record your expenses. Don’t rely on your memory for transactions that you’ve done in the past couple of weeks or months. Put everything in writing. This way you’ll exactly know what you did, what purchases you made, and for how much.
• Budget for savings. Make savings a priority over spending. The more you save, the more money you’ll have later on for more important things (even the ones considered as wants) like college funds, emergency funds, among others.
• Find ways to cut your spending. Budgeting is also about finding ways to cut your expenses. Look into your budget and see which expenses can be cut without sacrificing the level of benefits you receive.
• Decided your priorities. It all comes down to priorities. Do you want to save money, make money, or have a better financial life? Or do you just want to spend money and live paycheck to paycheck?
• Pick the right tools. In this day and age, there are a lot of budgeting apps or tools to help you manage your finances well. A lot of them are free to use. Use them.
• Make savings automatic. When savings is done automatically, you wouldn’t think you’re saving but you are.
• Watch your savings grow. When you’ve done all the steps above, it’s now your time to relax. You’ve done your part. Watch your savings continue to grow. Adjust it when necessary.

How to create a budget online or offline: Conclusion

Whether you’re trying to pay off bills, saving up to buy your first home, trying to learn how to budget money on a low income, or whatever your financial goal is, understanding how to make a budget is your first step toward making it a reality.

Creating a budget can be tough, but it doesn’t always have to be. One popular budget that people like to follow is the Dave Ramsey budget, but you can easily make your own.

Keep in mind, throughout your budgeting journey, your main priority is saving money.

Never lose sight of it! If you can do that, you’ll be budgeting like a pro in no time and knowing how to budget would be a no-brainer!