Free budget templates for Excel

Two budget spreadsheets that do the arithmetic for you. The monthly budget has a Transactions sheet where you log every payment and payday, and a Budget sheet that totals them by category against your plan, flags overspending in red and shows how much of your income you saved. The annual budget lays out all twelve months side by side, for planning a year of bills, holidays and gifts.

Templates

Monthly budget (Excel spreadsheet): A monthly budget spreadsheet: plan each category, log transactions, and see planned vs actual, what is left and your savings rate, all calculated.
Annual budget (Excel spreadsheet): A yearly budget planner with 12 monthly columns for income and spending, yearly totals, and a monthly net that turns red when you overspend.
Savings goal tracker (Excel spreadsheet): A savings tracker: set a goal and date, log deposits, and see your progress, what is left and how much to save each month.
Expense report (Excel spreadsheet): An expense report template for claims: dated expenses by category, totals per category, missing receipts flagged and the amount to reimburse.

How to use these templates

Open the monthly budget and set the month and your planned income at the top.
Type a planned amount for each category. Rename or add categories in the Budget table and pick the same names in the Transactions sheet.
Log spending on the Transactions sheet as it happens, choosing a category and Income or Expense from the dropdowns.
Check the Budget sheet each week: Left turns red for any category you have overspent, and the summary shows what is left and your savings rate.

Making a budget you will actually keep

Budget from last month’s real spending, not from what you hope to spend. Three months of bank statements give you honest starting numbers.
Treat savings as a bill: put it in the plan as a fixed amount and move it on payday, before the rest of the month gets to it.
Keep an "Other" line for the small surprises. A budget with no slack gets abandoned the first time something unexpected comes up.
In the UK this is often called a budget planner or household budget; in India, a monthly expense sheet. It is the same spreadsheet whichever you call it.
Use the annual budget for costs that do not arrive every month, such as insurance renewals, school fees and festivals, so they do not wreck one month’s plan.

Frequently asked questions

What is the 50/30/20 rule?

A simple split of take-home pay: about 50% for needs such as housing and bills, 30% for wants, and 20% for savings and paying off debt. Use it as a starting point for your planned amounts.

Can I use this budget in Google Sheets?

Yes. Download it and import it into Google Sheets; the SUMIFS formulas and the category dropdowns work the same.

How do I add a new spending category?

Type the new name over a category you do not use in the Budget table, then choose the same name in the Transactions sheet so its spending is counted.

Does it work with pounds or rupees?

Yes. Amounts have no currency symbol, so the template works with any currency.