Household Budget Template and Tutorial (Excel)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ย. 2024
- UPDATE! :) I'm excited to announce that the third and newest version of this workbook is now available!
Follow this link to see the new video: • Household Budget Templ...
Follow this link to download it: georgemhayward...
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This is a tutorial describing how to use a household budgeting workbook. To download the free Excel template (this is now the older version) and/or a blank version of it for your personal use, follow the link: www.dropbox.co...
For ease of viewing or review, feel free to jump to the discussion of any particular sheet:
Summary: 0:29
Income: 3:15
Expenses: 4:40
Bank Balances: 7:11
Budget: 8:09
Pie Income: 11:12
Bar Income: 11:58
Pie Expenses: 12:15
Bar Expenses: 12:45
Income | Expenses: 12:56
Categories: 15:08
Balances: 17:20
Lists: 18:24
FAQ: 19:10
Here is my previous budget video for reference: • Household Budget and F...
This is a versatile home and personal finance template with interactive components to help with tracking and managing your finances over time. It provides daily, monthly, and yearly data and can be used by individuals or households.
If you find this workbook to be helpful, please consider keeping George fueled with a cup of coffee or small donation :)
www.paypal.me/...
venmo.com/ (@georgemhayward)
Thank you to everyone who provided feedback on the earlier version of this workbook! All of your suggestions were taken very seriously and I trust that this workbook has improved greatly because of your thoughtful comments and questions!
This is exactly what I've been looking for. Thought I'd have to make something myself but this looks much nicer and more detailed than what I could do. Great work!
Thank you, Devon! :)
Could you do a tutorial of how to create this workbook? You've definitely use some functions I never even knew existed. I would like to get an understanding of some of these functions.
After watching many videos, this was the best of them all. In essence, it is simple to understand, functional, and more than just a budgeting template, but rather gives you an entire overview of your financial health. I've added other areas of finance to it like tracking expense categories based on your budget, tracking loans between family and friends, debt balances like credit cards, CDs, etc. It took a while but in the process I sharpened my excel skills (which I think should be part of high school curriculum if it isn't) and am very very pleased with having this template as a starting point. Thanks, George!
Mr. Howard ... I love your Excel sheet. THe problem I have with it is (1) when I go to walmart i have multiple categories (how do I log this?), (2) I have 2 checking accounts and 2 savings accounts (how do I log these?). Looking forward to responses. :-)
Hi John! Sorry for the slow reply. When I go to places like Walmart, I just manually categorize items and enter them as separate expenses. Of course, if you do that, just make sure the separate expenses all add up to the correct total on the receipt. For your accounts, it's fine to keep them separate. That's what I do as well. Just record the balances for each account individually. Does that help?
Hi! Thanks so much for posting this. Really helps with giving me an idea with what I'm doing with my money. Would just like to ask, how can I make a new page with the pie/bar charts to show me my monthly expense rather than cumulative? Not too familiar with Excel yet. Thanks again!
hi. could you please make a worksheet with romanian LEU ? i tried to change it but it messes up the whole worksheet. could you just change everything ro romanian LEU please ?
Sorry multiple posts. When changing expense names in List, the changes don't automatically carry to Summary Page. Mismatches have little notes in Summary Page. Whats the trick to get the new list in LIST to agree with the list in Summary. Thanks.
Hi again! Basically, every modified or added expense needs to be manually updated on the Summary sheet. For example, if you change "Groceries" to "Grocery Shopping," just go to Summary tab, click the down arrow for "Groceries" and then select the new title from the menu. You could also just delete the old "Groceries" row from the table and add "Grocery Shopping" at the bottom of the table. You could then re-sort it and everything will adjust. For anything you add to the bottom of the table (e.g., new expense categories), just click in the first white box on the Summary table, select the expense you want to add, and then drag the bottom right corner of the table downward. The total and average calculations will automatically update. Be sure to do the same procedure for name changes on the Budget tab. Does that help?
Hi I have downloaded the template and filled it. I think it works well but is there a way I can see cumulative amount of money I put aside for a specific reason let say dentist, if I put 100$ a month for that where can I see what's in my account below dentist?
Sorrry Im french hahaha
this template is amazing and have everything i need except there is no credit card payment/debt. it will be more helpful included debt/loan payment. then it prefect.
This is exactly what I am looking for but I don't have Excel. Do you have a Google Sheets version?
How would you track just transfers between accounts. if I get Direct deposit into my Checking but manually move X amount to savings. tracking it as a expense for checking then income for savings seems to be double dipping. and would screw up my total income
I prefer using monthly bottom-line expenses and percentages per each budget account based on that bottom line.
In this, the more I make, the more I am able to save per account.
Example:
I make about 622.50 a week, which comes out to about 2,645.50 monthly.
My monthly bottom line for expenses is 2,200. This means the monthly amount for each account that is pre-established, including expected mandatory bills such as rent and utilities and insurance, need not be completely re-calculated each payday, and each account saves more each payday than the bottom line so long as the bottom line is less than the actual monthly amount earned.
Let's say I have the following:
Rent - $450 per month as my monthly bottom line. (5 people, 1 rental house, $1350 monthly; I pay extra for my sister, niece, and brother-in-law)
My total bottom line is $2,200
The percentage would be calculated as 450 / 2200 = 20.45%
Dave Ramsey suggestions a rent/mortgage between 25% and 33%, about 1/4 to 1/3 of your income. You can see I easily beat this.
I stated I make about 2,645.50 monthly.
2645.50 x 20.45% = 541.00, which is $91 more each month saved for rent.
Now, extrapolate that across the entire budget and you have your 3-6 months savings (Dave Ramsey's Baby Step 3; though, I advocate for 12-months savings specifically for sinking accounts and earning interest in Money Market accounts on expenses saved) already being saved while you are simply running your standard budget.
Little bit of work on the front-end, maximum payout on the back-end.
Lastly, I recommend financial study in these areas if you are just starting out, Budgeting 101, Double-Entry Accounting 101, Data Analysis 101, and Financial Strategy 101.
These four basics make a financial cycle: Budget > DE Accounting > Data Analysis > Financial Strategy > Budgeting.
As a result, Quality Assurance is built into this financial process to improve itself simply by using it as intended.
Hope this inspires some great ideas. I believe you will all do well.
Wow. Exactly what I have been looking for... You rock man. Thank you!!
Thank you, Kya! And thanks for your gift! It means a lot :) Best of luck with the template! Let me know if any questions pop up.
This is very cool and hoping it will help me manage family funds. I do have a question for you. I run all of my money into my checking account. From there I pay all bills and expenses and transfer money to various savings or investment accounts. Using this budget, how do you account for moving money to other accounts? It is a debit from the checking account but it shouldn't affect my overall expenses as the money is still avaible and in a savings account. Any ideas?
How is the best way to start the workbook... all your information is already in the work book for several months.... if I wanted to start today how would I begin putting in my information... as I start on my own it keeps putting me way into the negative because all my money is already in my account and I have been using it but I don't have the income to back it up because again it's already in my account... could you possibly show or explain how best to begin using the workbook
Hello, I needed this!! How can I obtain the updated excel you are using in this tutorial? I am only able to download the older version. Thanks in advance.
Hi everyone! Thank you for all the comments, feedback, and support on this workbook. I'm working on some updates and planning (hoping) to post them before January 2020!
Hello George
I'm Bolivian, I've been using this spreadsheet for 1 year now and I cant stress enough how grateful I am for people like you.
You have changed the lives of many people here in Bolivia, just so you know, all the friends and family I introduced your spreadsheet and taught them to use it know can't live without it. I have translated several parts of your spreadsheet to Spanish.
Maybe one suggestion for your next version, it'd be very useful to include a TAB or option to keep track of savings and investments.
Saludos desde Bolivia!
@@gonzalosossa7437 Hi Gonzalo! Thank you for your comment and kind words :) I'm so glad to hear that this has been useful to you, your friends, and your family. Thanks for passing that message along! I appreciate your suggestion as well. Coincidentally, that's part of the plan :) The other big part of the plan has to do with projections of savings into the future. If you think of any other suggestions over the next few months, please do let me know and I'll try to add them.
@@georgemhayward Thank you George! a version in Spanish would save me a lot of time haha! I could translate it for you as a thank you gesture for sharing your tool with us.
Im looking forward to the new changes. God bless you my friend.
@@gonzalosossa7437 Hi Gonzalo! I wish I knew Spanish well enough to translate it! If you want to translate it, you are definitely welcome to! That would be very kind of you. No one has specifically asked for a Spanish version, though I'm sure it would get a lot of usage. If this is something you want to do, I'd be happy to post it alongside my other one. Hopefully I'll have an updated version by 2020, though I'll still keep the old version up in case people like it better. Hope you are doing well! :)
@@georgemhayward Hey again George! this is something I'd definitely love to do and Spanish speaking people will find this very beneficial to them. Please send me an email when you have the chance: gonzalo.tabh@gmail.com so we can discuss this matter further. This is a great tool you have created and deserves to be seen by more people.
Again I will be doing this for free!
Blessings and have a nice weekend
Downloaded this some time ago. It is now time to use it. You provide a valuable service in making this tutorial available. Happy Holidays and thank you. Mike
how do i filter the budget for example i want to check how much i spent on food in april of 2022
Lot of budgeting tools and spreadsheet can be downloaded from this site monthlybudgettemplate.org/the-best-budget-spreadsheet/
I don't know what else to say that wasn't said in 388 comments... I'm Beyond impressed! Thank you!
Fantastic resource. Thanks for all you do.
George, Thank you. I water to ask if you have a balance or I come sheet.
unfortunately the summary sheet does not update when I make alterations on the lists sheet
what is the easiest way to change to £ instead of $ without messing up the columns or cells please
Thanks for sharing. I will use it next year.
shall I enter the income before tax or the net income ? is there anyway I can enter before and after the tax so will count how much I have paid taxes in the year
Hi! You could enter your income either way. I record both ("Income 1" and "Income 1 net"), and then at the end of the year I record taxes as an expense if we owe money. If you want, you could also itemize your pay check and record taxes as an expense for each pay check. Whatever works for you!
How does this compare to financial planning software like quicken?
Hi Jason! I'm not sure, I haven't ever used any other software, coincidentally.
Does it matter what order you put your date in? I am used to day/month/year
Can you create one on Google Sheets? Thank you.
Hi George, question for you. Do I just continue adding my income each month in the first tab or do I delete that month and start again?
You are AhMAZING!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
Thanks for the kind words! Good luck! :)
I would like to know how to use the template for a new fiscal year. I filled it for an entire year, but want to reuse it, without losing all of my categories.. I thought I had figured out how to do it, but the Budget tabs don't seem to be calculating properly. Please advise! thanks!
Hi DJ, thanks for your question. Which tab, specifically, is not calculating properly? Just the tab titled "Budget"?
Want to enter 2 incomes - one gets paid every 2 weeks - the other, weekly. What's the best way to juggle that in the Earning Category section? It looks like my only option is monthly? I admit I am a rookie with this. Any hints? Thx
never mind, FAQ column to the rescue! Looking forward to working with your template.
Thanks so much for an awesome worksheet and perfect presentation.
No problem! Thanks for the kind words :)
Hello if we need help could we private message or something. I really like this and I want to set it up, but somehow I messed up a formula or two...either way thanks
Hi! Sure, you can send me a message, though please do so through the website. If you click on the link in the description, it will take you to the updated video. That video has a link to the website, and at the bottom of the site you can send me a message. Once we start, it will also let you upload attachments if you need to send me a screenshot of anything. Thanks!
George, love the template! It's exactly what I was looking for. I have one question - In the "Expenses" tab, is there a way for me to see the sum of expenses only for the current month as opposed to all expenses recorded to date?
wow I thought I would never find a budgeting workbook that I liked, this is perfect thanks for sharing and explaining it too!
Thanks Brett! Happy to help :)
You flip around to fast with you cursor and would suggest you use a circle or something easier to see especially since you are zipping so fast around the screen. Ie, every try to keep track of a bird flying in the tree top?
Hi Jeff - thanks for the comment. I'll keep that in mind if/when I make another video with an updated template.
How do you select multiple rows and then add a category
Hi Jacob, sorry for the slow response. I'm not sure what you mean...do you have an example of what you are trying to do?
This is great however I want to add weekly and biweekly bills, not just monthly. Do you have any formulas for this?
Today's date is not updating automatically for us. Is there a way to fix it so we don't need to manually set each time we open program?
Hi Tom, sorry for slow reply. Not sure why that would happen. If it persists, I would just re-download workbook or just enter the date formula manually. Hope that helps!
This is what I have needed and looked for to help me keep a visual of what's really going on! Thanks! This is very thorough...love it!
Thank you for this template. It’s just what I needed. I couldn’t do it on my own. Thank you!
Hi great workbook the only thing I can not get to work are the income does auto populate into the income / expense chart don't know what im doing wrong.
Hi! For the chart, make sure the proper timeframe is selected (at the top). The default one might be outdated and set to an older month/year. Does that help? Also, if you just started using this, I'd suggested downloading the newer version of this template. See link in description!
Is there anyway to divide what I spent for each account and break down the totals per account.
Hi Shawn! Sorry for the slow reply. What do you mean by account? Do you have an example of what you'd like to do?
Very impressive! The one thing that I have in my workbook that is missing is net worth, along with assets and debt.
So with my income do I add net pay?or do I document my income including taxes? So if I make $874.67 after taxes do I put that in as my income or before tax deductions 1134.47(example)?
Or if I pay child support do i Include that balance with my net income or only document my take home
Hi Mark! Thanks for your question. I just document my net income, but you could, if you wanted, also record the $X dollars taken out for child support as an expense. I don't personally record the taxes taken out of my paycheck, but you could also do that if you wanted. If you're going to do both of those, then perhaps you'd want to record your gross income. But if you don't want to itemize those two deductions, I would just do your net income. Hope that helps!
Also, there is a newer version of the template linked in the description if you're interested!
Greeting.
I downloaded your great spreadsheet , but when I opened it in my Excel 2007, it reports that "Excel found unreadable content in 'Budget_Template ....." Do you want to recover the contents of this workbook? ... "
When I click "Yes" it opens the page, but some functions do not work. I can not pick 'preferred financial year' (there is no dropdown list), ... a change in the "List" tab are not transferred to other tabs ... There are no dropdown list in "Expenses" tab...
Is it a problem, my version of Excel 2007...
Please, help
Pedja
Hi Pedja! Sorry for such a slow reply...your comment when to my spam. Were you able to figure it out? I am guessing that some of the features are not compatible with Excel 2007, unfortunately. There isn't a way for me to test it at the moment, but that's my hunch. Sorry about that. Let me know if you figure out the issue.
How can I change it from dollars to pounds please
Hi Aldrin! Thanks for your question. Check out the explanation on the FAQ sheet at the back of the workbook. Let me know if that doesn't help!
I did not want to make one on my own... you've pretty much done it all for me right here!
Tried to download and crashed my computer, do not download!
Hi! I'm very sorry this happened to you, but I can assure you that it is not a consequence of downloading the document. I have not received this comment before, though I know the document has been downloaded hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of times. Most of the commenters here have been using the document. I don't know what caused your particular crash, but I hope your computer recovers! I'm sorry that you had that experience.
Thank you for this template. I'm trying to edit or add items to expenses but it won't let me. I start on the summary page just like the list tab tells me to, but it isn't working. It keeps telling me that "the value doesn't match the data validation restrictions defined for this cell". That is even after pulling down on the right hand corner to expand. Please help because I need titles like credit card payment and student loan payment. Thanks!!
I figured it out. As I read the instructions I thought I was supposed to start in the Summary tab, but realized tonight I make changes in the list tab first.
Hi Joni, thanks for your question. Were you able to resolve this? I'm not sure what's wrong. My only guess would be that when you add the items on the Summary tab, do so by clicking on them through the drop-down menu (instead of typing them). Perhaps you were making a typo (e.g., there could have been a hidden space or something that didn't perfectly match the Lists tab). Does that help?
Hi George , how can I download your file?
Hi Thomas! Just follow the link in the description :) From there, click on the file, and you should have options in the top right corner. One of those options will be to download. Hope that helps!
Do you have a tutorial on how to make something like this?
Hi, and thanks for your question! I don't currently have a tutorial, though I will eventually post a video on how to use each sheet. I might eventually make a tutorial, but some of the building process is pretty advanced (e.g., formulas), so I'm not sure too many people would be interested in that much detail. You can also download the template and explore how it was built by clicking in all the cells to see the formulas.
Hello George, I just donated $20 to your PayPal.me account. Can't thank you enough! I was trying to start my own Excel finance page but this is just what I'm looking for and I think your time is important so I hope this great Excel sheet gets you many donations. Couple questions...
1. If you update this Excel sheet, how do I update to the new sheet? Will my info transfer?
2. Will the expenses tab / income tab (etc) and each entry on each tab ever erase (each year) to create more room on the page? Or will I continuously have to scroll down to create new entries? As time goes by, and more info is added, I'm just curious if it will become a problem?
Well anyways, this is my 1st day using your sheet, I love it already and hope to hear from you
Hi Steven! Thank you so much! That is very generous of you and I really appreciate it :) Those are good questions. For #1) This is something I've wondered about for a while. Since it's not a software, I don't think there is a way for me to update the master copy and have people get notified on their computers that there's an update. I also can't tell who downloaded the sheet, and I don't know how to contact the people interested about new updates. Any suggestions here would be amazing! Fortunately, most of the periodic updates are small: occasional typo, formatting broken somewhere, etc. When I finally had enough feedback to make major changes, that's when I made this new template and video, which added a bunch of new features to my old one. So, if I make any major changes I will probably make a new video and subscribers would be notified. Unfortunately, you would probably have to manually copy/paste your old data into it (I did this and it didn't take a while after I made this new version). For #2) You'll have to scroll down, but you can hide rows you don't want to see. That way you don't have to scroll far. My expenses currently have 2,094 rows (since 2014), but I filter that column to only show me 2017, so maybe it's 200 rows or something. I could filter it further to only show me the last month or two. Occasionally I want to recall something from before that and I just clear the filter, see what I need, and put the filter back. All of the dynamic charts will work regardless of how that's filtered. Hope that helps!
Thanks George, good recommendation regarding hiding rows. Looks like you have great feedback regarding your excel sheet, maybe its time to get a software designer! cheers, thank you!
I've been thinking about it! Haha, we'll see. No problem, good luck with it!
Hi, this is great! I'm new to budgeting and have been doing paycheck budgeting on paper and want to convert to excel. Do you accept custom request? I'll pay to have it done. Thank you
Hi Nikki, thanks for reaching out! I'm not sure that I would have time for custom requests at the moment, but what is your idea or question? I might be able to provide some thoughts or help here.
George Hayward Thank you. I’m trying to create a paycheck budget. Approximately 10 pages in one workbook. Let’s say month January is complete. How do I create duplicate workbooks for all 12 months, but to have it in one excel project. When I open the project ex. 12 month plan I want to be able to click the month I want to work with out it changing anything from the duplicate months. A better way to explain is like a physical planner. You have 12 months. Each month have the same pages to plan out, but everything is in one planner book. I’m new to this so sorry I’m not using correct terms. Thank you again!
@@nikkinicheller8013 Hi Nikki, thanks for the explanation. Unfortunately, you won't really be able to do that with this workbook, but you can do something similar with the projections tab. That tab will basically allow you to plan your income and expenses for each month out for the next two years or so. I do intend to eventually make a feature that lets people look at a particular month, but I'm not sure when I'll get to that. The dynamic sheets at the back can also be used to see particular months over time, but I know that's not exactly what you are describing.
I am not able to populate the formula on the summary sheet for the expenses so that it pulls data from the expenses sheet for specific expenses. ? When I use the formula you have and just change the relevant cells it doesn't work...
Hello George,Just starting to become familiar with your worksheet, looks good, I am trying to add some custom "expenses". I made the changes from the list sheet, but they do not transfer over to the summary page. I read your notes, but not sure how to make the changes from the summary sheet?appreciate any feedback.....Thank You very much
Hi! Hmm...it sounds like you already looked through the notes on the Lists tab, so I'm wondering what else could be wrong. There is a second box that you may have missed on Lists tab - the box that says, "if you added items to the 'types of expenses' list." Basically, every modified or added expense need to update it on the Summary sheet. For example, if you change "Groceries" to "Grocery Shopping," just go to Summary tab, click the down arrow for "Groceries" and then select the new title from the menu. You could also just delete the old "Groceries" row from the table and add "Grocery Shopping" at the bottom of the table. You could then re-sort it and everything will adjust. For anything you add to the bottom of the table (e.g., new expense categories), just click in the first white box, select the expense you want to add, and then drag the bottom right corner of the table downward. The total and average calculations will automatically update. Does that help? Thanks for asking! :)
How does one change the category titles please?
Hi! Check out the Lists tab at the back for instructions. Hope that helps!
If I pay my credit cards from my single checking account, how do I list expenses? If I list the lump sum I pay once a month for each of my 3 cards, I'll never be able to see the individual charges from each card to track what I'm spending on. Could you suggest a solution for me? Thanks
Hi Alex! Thanks for your question. I pay my credit card bill from my checking account as well. Here's what I do: I record all of my expenses normally, including those I pay with my credit card. Then, when I pay the bill, I record the payment as an "expense" that costs $0. Then, I leave myself a note in the right-most column that says something like: "Paying monthly credit card bill of $1,553." That way, the expenses don't double count, and they are still itemized. You'll still have a record of the payment as well. Does that help?
@@georgemhayward Thank you for your reply. It's much clearer to me now. If in the future I need more technical help, is it possible to pay you for your time like a tutor?
@@alexo5190 Hi Alex, sorry for the slow reply! My schedule is a little erratic at times (currently starting the last year of a PhD program), so I don't know how much time I'd have to tutor, but please still let me know if additional questions pop up. Hopefully I can still be of assistance. If the question(s) require a lot of technical explanation, we can try to figure something out.
Hello George , I have searched all over to get a better budget system in place and this one is amazing ! Great work Here, Really like the way the Pie charts show percentage as I am trying to get to a 50-20-30 Budget principle with my Finance.
Couple questions ? 1. Is there something that will show my savings account balance and when I make deposits will it add up in the summary.
2. I made some slight changes to category names but some where along the change path I lost the formula that calculates Average monthly expenses & the difference box . Can you tell where it pulls the data ( formula calculation from so I can get that corrected. I am new user of excel and still learning my way around .
Thanks , Oh and A cup of coffee ( Donation) will be coming next pay day as this is something that will make u huge impact on how I spend my money in the future.
Hi Robert! Thanks for your questions, kind words, and donation! They mean a lot, and I'm glad this is working for you! :) For your first question, there isn't a way currently to integrate bank accounts in real time, unfortunately. So, I don't think it can do what you're looking for there, unless you wanted to modify the workbook and manually keep track of all bank deposits and debits (probably a lot more work than it's worth). I just monitor my bank accounts regularly and use this workbook in tandem with them. Perhaps one day soon I'll be able to link bank account info! For your second question, the average monthly expenses on the Summary tab has this formula: [=Budget!I23] and the difference calculation has this formula: [=F16-F17]. You should be able to copy and paste those in directly (without the brackets) and everything should be back to normal. Let me know if that doesn't work or if you have other questions!
Is the "Income 1" cell on the Budget tab an ANNUAL income? Because otherwise it will always give a negative projected expenses, won't it?
Hi Lucas! Yep, that's the annual income. I apologize for the confusion. Thanks for the question!
Has anyone figured out how to change the dates that are already pre-installed on the template? I’m looking to start November 1, 2018 to November 1, 2020.
Hi David.. I went to the Lists Tab and under the Year... I entered the years that I want to do the budget for. this will automatically update your year selections.
You can't change the categories...for example under all "all earning categories" , you can't change the wording.....you can't change it to what you want it to say
Hi! Sorry for the slow response. All of the wording can be changed, but you have to do it on the Lists tab. The Lists tab contains all the lists for the drop-down menu throughout the workbook, so the menus will reflect exactly what is on their stored lists. The Lists tab has directions on how to change all of the menus...check that out and let me know if you're still having trouble. Hope that helps! :)
Hi George,
Thank you so much for providing such a great tool ! Do you know a way I can download to your template our Citibank Excel spreadsheet of our yearly summary of charges? Their spreadsheet is already separated into a few categories which I would probably need to break into more specific ones. Thank you for your help! Stephanie
Hi Stephanie, and thanks for your question. Sorry about the slow reply! Hmm, I'm not sure how to do that. Perhaps you could copy and paste information from that sheet into this one, but I don't know of another way off the top of my head. When I find forgotten expenses from our bank statements I just enter them manually. Hopefully you can find a good solution. Good luck!
Hi. How do I handle savings. If I take money from my checking account and add it to my savings account each month or even to an investment account for that matter, do I need a savings/investment category under type of expenses so that I move that money from my checking account? What would you suggest for accurately tracking savings accounts etc. Awesome spreadsheet!
Hi Nathaniel! I tried recording intentional savings as "expenses" for a while but this created other complications (e.g., overall expenses would be inflated and there is no counter-option for transferring money in the opposite direction - from savings to checking accounts). Basically, as long as you record your bank balances (or other investments) on the Bank Balances tab, that will track everything for you. You can then view the line graph of these balances over time (including the total of all of them) on the Balances tab. That's how I track all of my accounts. Of course, I monitor them throughout the month as well on my bank's website.
George Hayward that will work great for me. Thank you.
No problem! :)
Another quick question, I also have 4 checking accounts where do I track the income and expenses so that I know which account the debit or credit generated from? I don't see an Account toggle under the 'cumulative expenses' worksheet or the 'cumulative income' worksheet. thanks again!
Hi! For expenses, you can just change the drop-down list under PMT to match the accounts (see the Lists tab for directions). For example, I have things like SE Credit, SE Debit, PF Credit, PF Debit, and so on, with "SE" and "PF" being my bank nicknames. So, I'd just put little identifiers for each account. For income, that's a little different, since I don't currently have an indicator for where the income actually ends up. I like that idea! I made a note to add it for future revisions. For now, you could either 1) modify the Form list for the income tab, just like you did for PMT on Expenses, to match your specific accounts (e.g., "Direct deposit - SE checking") or 2) You could insert a column somewhere, perhaps after Form and before Explanation, and add your account information manually. If you do #2, you could also add a drop-down menu for the cells in the new column. Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions or want me to clarify anything :)
As a broke ass fella straight out of college, with massive debt, this will help me immensely. thank you very much. If I had money to donate, i would... if...
I appreciate the thought! Hopefully this will help you get on the right track! :)
Hi, I am just investigating using an excel spreadsheet for a home budget. I was wondering if there is an option for a fortnightly version (rather than monthly)? What I have seen so far seems amazing thanks
Hi Michael! Thanks for your comment. Right now, everything in set up to function on monthly and yearly timescales. Unfortunately, there aren't options for fortnights and I probably will stick to months/years for now, since that's what I'm most familiar with. Of course, you are welcome to modify it if you'd like! :) Best of luck.
Thank you so much. I will start using this Excel Sample in January. I know will be super helpful. I will let you know after using it for 6 month how it works for me.
Hi Daniel! Thanks for reaching out. I will hopefully be posting the new version of the workbook this week, so if you're going to start in January, I'd suggesting use that one instead of this one! I see that you subscribed, so you should get the notification when I post it. Good luck!
How would you suggest keeping track of Credit Card debt? I wrote in each credit card expense separately in the cumulative expense sheet, but I am unsure where to record a payment towards that credit card...or should I?
Hi Katherine! Thanks for your question. I pay off my credit card each month straight from my bank account and don't record it in the workbook. Since the workbook displays ending monthly bank balances, it all works out about the same. In other words, you don't need to record when you actually pay your credit card bill because your bank accounts will adjust when you do (i.e., they will decrease). And the income/expense calculations will all work regardless of how/when you pay down your bill (though expense calculations assume that you will eventually pay all charges, of course). Hope that helps!
On the Income tab, the drop-down lists for the category and form seem to be switched. Is there an easy way to fix this? Thanks so much for this tool! It's very helpful.
Hi Eric, I haven't heard of this happening, so perhaps it's a glitch. Maybe try closing and reopening it or re-downloading it? Outside of that I'm not sure how those lists could be switched. Worst case scenario, you could always redo the data validation. Hope that helps!
Hello George , thank you so much for this fabulous sheet , I have two questions for the income tab , my income is bi monthly so I dont how I should inter it bi monthly ? the second question when I entered the income of DEC 2018 which my budget started in the summary sheet appeared like yearly ? what do you think. thanks
Hi! I just replied to your other comment as well. Sorry for the slow responses! To your questions: 1) I would record your income twice each month if it is bimonthly. Whenever you get a paycheck just record it on the income tab. 2) I'm not sure what you mean, but the budget might have recorded your December 2018 income as your "yearly" income since that was the only income you recorded in 2018. This will correct itself as you continue to use it in 2019. Hope that helps!
First of all, thank you very much for this excel table. It's amazing!
But I seem to have a problem. Let's say I get paid 500$ on the last day of the month and I don't spend the money. The table doesn't add those 500$ to the budget for the next month. I can include them in the budget beforehand if they are a monthly income, but what if they're not regular money? Is there a way around this?
Hi! Sorry for the slow reply. You are right that they Budget tab doesn't reflect sudden increases or decreases of money or take into consideration how much money you currently have. It's mostly for planning purposes based on your regular income. In your case, I would just set your income to your regular yearly income (the "Income 1" cell), and base your projections on that. If you get an extra few hundred bucks here or there, record it on the Income tab, but it may not affect how money is allocated in your budget. Of course, if the new money leads you to adjust your projections for a category, that's fine too. I don't usually change our projections much, even though additional money sometimes comes in for the holidays, birthdays, and so on. But I do like the idea of having an option to label income as "regular" or "irregular," as I currently have on the Expenses tab. I'll make a note of that for the next revision! I hope that helps!
Hello George. It looks like this template is exactly what my wife and I need. I do have a few questions. I need your guidance. Can I send you an e-mail with an attachment?
Hi Chuck! Is it possible to send a message through TH-cam instead? That might be easier as a first option. Or perhaps we could just use comments without a screenshot?
@@georgemhayward
Subject: NEED YOUR GUIDANCE
Good evening George. I found your Excel template for personal budgeting on You Tube. It appears to be just what my wife and I need to reign in our financials. Both the video and the workbook are well thought out. Very helpful. At the present time, I have over 50% of my data entered for the year 2018.
That being said, I need your advice on several items:
1) When I have entered the “Date” on the Income and the Expenses tab, I have used the following convention “11/14/18”. However, on some of the cells, when I move to the next cell, the date will auto-correct to “11/14/2018”. Is that a problem?? I assume that the template is looking for a consistent format. Should I ignore this activity?
2) I created two categories for Church giving. One is “Church giving - Standard” and one is “Church giving - Special”. When I utilize these cells, they automatically turn an ochre color. I am not sure if this is a problem. Should I ignore this activity?
3) I have modified the master list for “Types of Expenses”. I now have 53 categories. The master list on the “Budget” tab reads identically (53 categories). When I view the “Budget” tab, under the “Actual Average” column, I see the “#N/A” message. It seems to appear on those categories that I have added or modified. How can I correct the situation?
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
@@chuckwitherspoon2577 Hi Chuck! Thanks for your questions. 1) The date format doesn't matter and shouldn't affect anything. All of mine are in the 11/14/18 format, which I thought was the default. Not sure why it's changing to 11/14/2018, but either way that wouldn't affect anything. If you want, you could just select the whole column at the top and change the date format for the whole column. 2) You're the first person to ever ask about this! I like having our church giving highlighted in orange, and I kept that feature in the workbook that I uploaded. It doesn't affect anything - it just makes it easier to see. I can tell you how to remove that coloring if you want. It's just conditional formatting. 3) The "actual average" column is pulling from the table on the right of the Summary tab. So, you just need to go to the summary tab and update those categories there. Hopefully that helps! Let me know if any additional questions pop up.
I love this template. It's amazing. My only issue, which isn't with the template, is just that it takes an extremely long time to fill in the Categories column in Income and Expense column in Expenses. I thought about doing IF>THEN but there would be way too many to filter. Any ideas on how to speed it up? Might need a script, but I can't program.
Hi! Thanks for your comment. The reason there isn't a function (e.g., if ____ then assign _____ category) is because so many different places we spend money can span categories. As an example, Walmart sells groceries, home decor, household supplies, clothing, and so on, all of which I'd want to categorize separately. So, you could always add your own script, but from my experience the drop-down menus will eventually prove useful. Definitely open to suggestions, though, if you think of a different way to speed it up! Good luck! :)
Am using this template on google sheets and for some reason none of my columns have drop down options. I can still enter manually of course but it's a bit more tedious. Just wondering if you had a solution for this. Thanks!
Hi Kaleb! Unfortunately, I don't think this template works normally on Google Sheets. I tried it out a while ago but it would have required a decent amount of modifications and I wasn't even sure that all of the formulas could be replicated. Some of them are pretty advanced and technical. I think someone commented a few months ago that they were able to make it work, but I'm not sure how much they modified it. Sorry about that. If you decided to modify it, I'd be interested to hear how it goes! The specific solution you are looking for is called "data validation" in Excel, and it allows you to select a group of cells (e.g., a column) and reference a list that you want to use as a dropdown menu. I just checked and Google Sheets does have data validation. You'll just want to highlight the column, click data > data validation > click "list from a range" > select the list you want from the Lists tab > click save. Hopefully that helps!
Thank you very much George! I will try it out.
Sounds good! Good luck!
Sorry for all of the questions. I am having a problem with one of the tabs, the income tab. It appears as if all the blank columns now have a header "Column 4, Column 5, etc" with a filter on each column. I have tried everything to delete it and nothing seems to work. It is a problem because it is really slowing down the workbook and every time I try to delete a row, it tells me the operation affects a large number of cells and may take a significant amount of time to complete.
How do you add multiple or additional accounts the bank Balances? Also, I treat my savings as expenses. How do add that variable to the expense type?
Fantastic. Very sincere work 👌👍. Much appreciate sharing it with others
Thank you so much! :) There is also a newer version of this workbook available if you are interested - linked in the description!
Hello George! I have been using your budget sheet for a just over a month now and am confused by the 'Current Month' column on the Budget Tab. I have entered some expenses from this current month, but they are not being shown in the 'Current Month' column. I am not sure if it is a formatting issue with the date input on the expenses tab or something like that. Any suggestions or explanation for something I have missed? Any help is appreciated!
Hi Alex, sorry for the slow response. Were you able to figure this out? If not, double check that all the dates are correct and that you also assigned each expense a category. Does that help? Are any of them working or do they all say zero?
Wow, Smashed the like button in the first 15 seconds. Thank you!
Awesome! Thank you! :) Also, there is a newer version linked in the description, if you are interested. Good luck!
Got it! Thanks for this excellent excel layout. Looks like you've got some good CPA...CFO..chops. Keep up the great work.... Go for it. Appreciate your help.
Thanks so much! :)
I'm struggling with getting my updated expense list from the Lists tab to carry over to the Summary and Budget tabs. Both of those tabs just show the pre-filled expenses. Do you have any tips?
Hi Laura! Sorry for the slow response. If it's still an issue, did you follow the directions from both boxes on the Lists tab? It sounds like you may have followed the first part (the top orange box) but not the second part (the bottom orange box(es)). Basically, after you modify the lists, you just have to go the Summary and Budget tabs and make one or two small adjustments. The second and third orange boxes (around row 36) on the Lists tab should help. If that doesn't work, let me know and we'll figure it out! :)
Wish this workbook had a sheet, in which you could define any of your accounts in different banks like bank1 account, bank2 account and etc. and you could define how much money you have in each one of them in the beginning and as you spend from each account or your income is received in each account, that sheet would show you the balance of that account and in the end calculate your cumulative capital! and also you could get a capital growth/loss report for each month!
Hi Afshin, thanks for your comment! The Bank Balance sheet does allow you to do something similar, though I'm happy to say that I've also improved this sheet for the next version (posted in next week or two, hopefully). The new version allows you to track any kind of monthly balance and is also shown on the summary tab for quick glance statistics. There will also be a projections tab that allows people to forecast future balances. Keep your eye out for that! Hope you like the workbook.
Hello George, comprehensive template, but I think I will reduce the list otherwise I will not follow through. Question though in budgeting, how would you go about tuition, if you only pay it only once (or twice), so you know your tuition budget for that month. but on the budget tab it is an average for 12 months. should i just put it as 0? Thanks.
Hi Horace! I use the projected average to approximate the yearly amount divided by 12, even though some expenses are only once or twice a year (like tuition, as you mention). However, if you think it's easier to put $0, then maybe try that. You could always change it as time goes on (by putting zero, your "actual average" values will always light up in red since they will be more than zero, but this probably isn't a big deal). The projected average isn't essential for the workbook as a whole to function. It's mostly there to help you plan for expenses and to guide behavior, so just do whatever helps you plan and make decisions most effectively :)
Is there any way to show a total balance, then the payment made and calculate the remaining balance of something (like car loan, mortgage, or credit cards)?
Hi Shanda! There is not currently a way to do that but I've made a note of it for a future revision. One issue is that I don't think there is a way to link this document to online accounts (banks, credit cards, etc.), so all of the data entry for that would be manual and perhaps redundant to the online accounts. It's definitely something I want to keep thinking about, though, especially if I change this from an Excel workbook to software.
Thank you so much for the quick reply and for developing this spreadsheet. It has been much easier to use than other templates I have tried! Your response indicated that you couldn't link this to online accounts. To clarify, I wasn't wanting to link them to online accounts, but rather to manually input the balance on larger bills. This way, you can see the progress you are making to pay them down/off. I am actually helping a friend try to keep a household budget and rebound from cancer in which she has very large medical bills we are paying monthly payments on. Thank you again for all your help!
Hi Shanda! Sorry for the slower response this time around. I see what you mean, and there isn't currently a way to do that. I've just tracked my balances (e.g., car and house) online, but I do think it could be useful to have it in the workbook, especially for something like medical bills that might not be as easy to monitor. Here's one suggestion that I just came up with: you could duplicate the Expenses tab and then rename it "Medical" or something like that. Then, at the top, change the "Cumulative Expenses..." title to "Medical Balances." Next, change the formula in the cell beneath the title to =[your total balance]-sum(range of prices). For a $10,000 starting balance, it would look like this: =10,000-sum(C7:C50). If you do that, the number at the top will be the current balance. In the table below, simply record every payment made just like you would on the Expenses tab. (You could also change the "price" column to say "payment" to make it clearer. The balance will update automatically as payments are made. Let me know if that doesn't make sense. It only would take a few minutes to make these changes if you're familiar with Excel. If not, I could probably just make it for you. Hope that helps!
How can i corporate my savings (surplus from current month) to this excel?
Thank you! Looks like it is very easy to use, but I have a question. When you borrowed money from someone for short term, does it still classified as a income? And later minus the payback amount as a expense? Thanks!
Interesting question! I'm not sure what I would do in that situation, but what you suggested makes sense to me! That's probably what I would do. Usually when an income or expense row needs to be updated later (like if I'm getting reimbursed from work or something), I also highlight part of that row in yellow so that I don't forget to keep an eye on it.
On the Summary Sheet, in the All Expenses Categories table, is Total referring to the total since the very start of the budget or from the beginning of the year? And is Monthly referring to current month total? Thanks!
Hi Andy! Both of those show the totals since the start of the workbook (everything recorded).However, you can get current monthly spending on the Budget tab, and the "Income | Expenses" and "Categories" tabs each show you income/expenses by month. Hopefully that helps!
This is fantastic! Thank you so much for this resource.
Hi George! Just started using this template. When I changed the "Type of expenses" list on the list page (by adding and deleting) and then updating the summary and budget pages the same, I ended up with some empty cells. The empty cells on the budget and summary page have little green triangles in the top left of the cells. When I click on those cells, an "!" shows up. Is there something else I'm supposed to do to those cells? Or, can I just leave them there empty? Thanks!
Hi Carolyn! Once the name is gone (e.g., if you got rid of "professional associations"), you can just delete the cells next to where that title was (the cells which contain any errors). Then just re-sort the table and everything should be fine. It should be as if those old categories were never there. Let me know if that doesn't fix it!
George "HEATWAVE" Hayward, changing the world for the better!!! :D Incredible, super spectacular job!!!!!!!
Thanks my man E!
Today with the interest of setting up a 'control' sheet for my own finances, I happened to chance upon your video for the first time here. I clicked the link to your template, however it does not display any template. It display a continuous stream of HTML code only.
Living in Japan, I noticed there is no option for dealiing with multiple currencies. Most of my transactions are done in JPY (Japanese Yen) but there are situations say like retirement income that gets deposited in USD and I would like to know the equivalent of that based on the current exchange rate. Another situation is when travelling overseas and I might need to deal with THB (Thai Bhat), SGD (Singapore Dollar). It would be nice if there was a way to insert the current exchange rate for a transaction and have that convert to the equivalent amount in terms of the base currecny JPY.
I also gleaned from the tail end of your video that this is not designed to be fully functional to work in Google Shsets. This si unfortunate to read as I do most of my spreadsheet work in Google Sheets (or would like to). Being that it is cloud-based and free to use, I can access, modify, update anywhere, any time regardless of the device I am on. I could consider one of the open source suites such as Open Office, Libre Office, etc., but then, that mererly becomes a local solution and not a mobile / cloud-based solution. Given the nature of this day and age of mobility and accessibility, such features are important to me. Thanks for this video.
Hi Jerry, thanks so much for your comments! I'm sorry to hear that the link didn't work. Has it worked since? I just tried it two different ways and it worked both times. You are right that there is no integration of exchange rates for different currencies. That's a pretty cool idea. I thought about adding that a while ago but didn't think it would get much usage relative to the time needed to integrate that effectively. My best suggestion would be to just convert everything manually and then leave notes in the space provided about the original currency. You are also right that this workbook is not designed to be fully functional in Google Sheets. Another commenter on this video said that he did get it working in Google Sheets, but I don't have the expertise (or time right now, unfortunately) to build and maintain a compatible version. This is something I'd like to do in the future, but for now you may have to adapt it manually if you wish to use Google Sheets. Hopefully some of that was helpful. Good luck!
Hi. Thank you for the great workbook and video! How do you document credit card bills and payments as well as credits for returned items or refunds from bank ATM fees?
Hi April! Glad you like it :) Since I record credit card expenses as I make them, when the bill comes I just pay it off and record the bill as an "expense" for $0. Then, I leave a note to myself in the last column about what the bill was. That way I have a record of my credit card payments documented as well. If things are returned and my credit card is credited, I just go back to the expense line and update it with the new amount (e.g., if I spent $100 but returned a $20 item, I would change that expense to $80). Does that help?
Hey George! I am a first timer this year for 2018 using your budget template which absolutely looks amazing.
I get paid once a month on the last day of the month. The income for that month pays for the upcoming month's expenses. For example: December's income paid for January's expenses, and January's income will pay for February's expenses. I'm trying to track my data for January, but of course it shows I have no income because January's projected expenses are based on December of 2017 income. How do I adjust the dates on the summary page to include December into the workbook without it counting the entire year of 2017, but to show as income for January, and I will get paid again on the 31st of January 2018? Is there any advice or suggestions when entering expenses and income into the data sheet?
Hi Wynter! Sorry for the slow reply. Have you figured out a solution that works well for you? My initial thoughts are that I would do one one the following: Option A: either not worry about it, since it seems like only January would be most affected (at least in calendar year graphs), and you would know the explanation for it. Option B: record all of your payments to be one day later than they really are. So, if you got paid on 12/31/17, and use that money for January 2018, you could just date that paycheck 1/1/18. Then, you could leave a note in that row that says it was officially received one day earlier. That would align all of your paychecks with the month that you use them for. Does that help at all?
hi , it is automatic give you a new blank spreed sheet at the end of the month or you have to change it manually , or it will generate you a new at the end of the month?
This was and is extremely helpful!!!!
Thanks! So glad to hear :)
@@georgemhayward Hey Morning, is there a way for me to contact you???
Hi All,
I want to change the currency unit from $ to ¥ .Could you help me for that?
Hi Amol! Check out the FAQ page in the back of the workbook...there are some directions for changing currency and a link to a page that might help. Let me know if you have any other issues. Good luck! :)