One of the hardest parts of budgeting is actually sticking to the budget you make.
But if you want to succeed with your budget goals, creating a budget that you can stick to is vital to your success.
That is why we made this monthly budget planner for beginners–to help you create a budget that will work for your life.
If you make a budget that actually works for you, you should have an easier time sticking to it.
You can download your copy of this budget planner here.
To help you create your budget, we will walk you through how to use this budget planner.
The first thing you are going to do is set your goal for the month.
What do you want to accomplish or focus on this month when it comes to your budget.
Create a goal that is intentional that will help you focus and succeed. Write that goal in the monthly goal box.
The next step is to enter your income for the month.
Add in the places where you are receiving income from, adn how much each source brings in.
Then add up all your income amounts and enter the total in the total income box.
The next step is to enter in your monthly bills.
These are the expenses that are the same every month and must be paid every month–usually on the same day.
These are things like your Housing, Utilities, and insurances.
Put each bill in a separate line and enter in the amount for each expense.
Add up the cost of all your bills and enter this amount in the bills total box.
Next you need to enter in all the information for your variable expenses.
These are the things your spend money on each month, but the amount may change month to month.
Think of things like groceries and fun money spending.
Make sure you add up the total amount you spend on variable expenses and put that number in the expense total box.
Now it is time to start figuring out your savings goals.
What do you wnat or need to save for?
An Emergency fund? Christmas? A birthday sinking fund? New house?
Whatever your savings goals are, put those into the savings section.
Add up your total for your saving goals and enter that in the savings total box.
The last section is the debt payments section.
Enter each debt on its own line, and the amount you will pay this month for each debt.
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Tally up the total you will pay towards your debts and enter this in the debt total box.
Finally, you add up all of your spending (bills, variable expenses, saving and debt). Put this total on the total spending line.
Then put your total income on the total income line.
Take your total income, and subtract your total spending.
You now know how much you are planning to spend this month, versus how much income you have coming in.
The goal is to have that number be $0 (or very close to it).
If you have extra money in your budget, decide if you want to save more or put more towards debt.
If you are spending MORE than your income, it might be time to make some tough decisions about what to cut.
Or find a way to bring in more income.
Final thoughts on Monthly Budget Planner for Beginners
No matter what you decide, keep in mind your goals. Because your budget should reflect your life and your goals!
That is the great thing about this budget sheet—it helps you see where your money is going so you can make better decisions about where your money should go.
Make sure to snag a copy of this awesome budget printable for yourself. Get it here!
If you have questions, let me know.
Happy Budgeting!