Struggling with your money can feel like a battle that will never end.
So today, I want to help you fight that battle and actually win with a monthly budget planner idea!
One way to make budgeting feel less frustrating is actually to use a budget template that lays out the process for you.
And if that template happens to be a cute budget printable, so much the better!
You will be more excited to try budgeting again, if you have something cute and fun to use.
Hey, anything that helps is a win in my book. You can get this printable here!
This monthly budget planner idea template is the perfect tool to start winning the battle of taming your finances.
Let’s go over how to use it.
First is to gather your income information.
You want to know how much money actually hits your ank account each month or pay period.
You are going to enter that amount into the income section of the template.
There are a couple of lines you can use, if you have multiple sources of income for your household.
Once you have entered the income information, tally it all up and add the total into the total column.
Next up is your fixed expenses.
These are your monthly bills that are about the same amount each month.
Think of things like insurance, utilities, rent or mortgage, subscriptions, etc.
Anything that is a stable expense each month need to go into this section.
Each expense should get its own line, and then add in the amount for each expense.
Once you have included all of your bills, add all of them together and put that total in the bills total box.
Then is it time for your variable expenses.
This is your monthly spending on things that don’t have a set amount each month.
The amount that you can spend on thses things will vary month to month.
This section should include expenses like groceries, gas, personal spending and miscellaneous expenses.
Include each spending category and how much you spend on each.
Then add up all the spending in enter that number into the expenses total box.
Now it is time to enter in your debts (if you have them).
Credit cards, car payments, student loans–anything that you are working on paying down and paying off needs to go in this section.
Once you have entered each debt into the section, total up how much you spend each month on those minimum payments.
The last section is your savings section (yay!).
We LOVE saving money over here.
Enter in your savings goals and decide how much you want, or are able, to save for each goal.
Total up your savings goals and enter that into the savings total.
**Note. You will also see a “leftover” box for each section. This is to help you see how much you have left to budget after filling in each category. It is a great way to keep tabs on your planned budget as you go along and create it.**
Once all your expenses, debt and savings have been added in, you have created your budget!
Now you can see how your budgeted spending matches up against your income.
In the last section take your total income and subtract the totals of your fixed expenses, variable expenses, debt and savings.
If your math equals $0–congratualations! You have given every dollar a job to do.
If you have a positive number left over–time to give those dollars a task.
Consider throwing more money at your debt or adding more to savings.
If you have a negative number–that’s okay! You got this.
But it is time to figure out how to cut back more on the expenses/spending or how make more money.
Final thoughts on Monthly Budget Planner Ideas
If you are ready to get control of your money and start making the life of your dreams a reality, then using a good budget template is one of the most important steps to make that happen.
This cute budget printable is an awesome tool to help you get there!
You can get your copy of this budget template here.
Happy Budgeting!