How To Do A Budget Spreadsheet On Excel

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Dec 28, 2025, 10:53 AM

This example shows you how to create a budget in Excel. Follow this step-by-step guide and take control of your finances. 1. First, enter the different types of income and expenses in column A. Note: on the Home tab, in the Font group, you can use the different commands to change the font size and font style of text. Click on the right border of the column A header to increase the column width.

2. Enter the word Jan into cell B2. Next, select cell B2, click the lower right corner of the cell and drag it across to cell M2. Excel automatically adds the other months. 3. Enter some data to get started with budgeting.

Budgeting is one of the most effective ways to take control of your finances, whether for personal or business use. Without a clear plan, expenses can quickly spiral out of control, making it difficult to save and invest wisely. Microsoft Excel is an excellent tool for creating a structured and automated budget that helps you track your income, expenses, and overall financial health. In this guide, you will learn how to create a budget in Excel from scratch, ensuring you stay on top of your financial goals with ease. A budget in Excel is a spreadsheet that helps track income, expenses, and financial goals over a specific period. It allows users to organize their finances, compare actual spending with planned amounts, and make data-driven decisions.

Managing personal or business finances effectively starts with a well-structured budget. Excel is a powerful tool that allows you to organize your income and expenses, track spending, and plan for future financial goals. This step-by-step guide will show you how to create a budget in Excel from scratch. Start by Opening Microsoft Excel and creating a new workbook. This blank spreadsheet will serve as your budgeting tool. In the first row of your spreadsheet, label the columns to organize your budget.

Common categories include: Let’s be real — the word “budget” doesn’t always spark joy. But what if setting one up in Excel felt less like a chore and more like building a roadmap to financial freedom? You don’t need to be a spreadsheet wizard. You just need a clear plan, a few simple formulas, and maybe a nice cup of coffee while you set it all up. ☕

In this guide, I’ll walk you through how to set up a beautiful, functional monthly budget in Excel — plus a free template so you can start instantly. Think about where your money goes each month. Common categories might include: In Excel, create a simple table with these columns: Here is an overview of a personal budget. The time period of a personal budget can vary based on an individual’s needs and preferences, ranging from a monthly budget to a yearly budget or even longer.

We will use a monthly budget for the month of January 2023. There are some broad expense categories like Necessary Expenses (column C), Occasional Expenses (column D), Regular Repayments (column E), etc. Under each category there are sub-categories. Needless to say, the income and expense categories listed above are just an example. Adjust as necessary to suit your own requirements.. Creating a monthly budget in Excel is a simple and effective way to manage your finances.

Start by listing your income sources and monthly expenses in Excel. Use formulas to ensure totals automatically update. Monitor and adjust your budget each month to stay on track. In this guide, you’ll learn how to set up a basic monthly budget using Excel. By the end, you’ll have a clear understanding of where your money goes each month, helping you make better financial decisions. By starting fresh, you ensure there are no distractions or errors from previous workbooks.

This clean slate is essential for organizing your finances accurately. Label the first column "Income" and the second column "Expenses." These columns will help you categorize and organize your financial data. Having separate columns for income and expenses will make it easier to see where your money is coming from and where it’s going. Brittany Kline | Updated December 19, 2024 Budgeting Have you heard of people learning how to make a budget in Excel and want to get an easy budget for yourself?

Creating a budget can be a little overwhelming, but we Savvy folks know how to make it simple for you! We’ve created this guide on making a household budget in an Excel spreadsheet to help you create a monthly budget plan that you can follow easily. Let us help you make an easy budget spreadsheet to get your finances on track and help you on your journey for financial independence! This comprehensive guide teaches you how to create an advanced, single-page budget planner in Microsoft Excel to help you track and organize your monthly income and expenses. Learn to leverage Excel’s powerful features like PivotTables, KPIs, and data visualization to build a robust financial management system. Perfect for anyone looking to take control of their finances and gain valuable insights into their spending habits.

Home » Excel » Excel Budget Dashboard Tutorial: Create a Personal Finance Tracker By the end of this guide, you’ll know how to: Set up a comprehensive transaction tracker in Excel Create dynamic budget summaries using PivotTables How to Do a Budget Spreadsheet on Excel is an essential skill for managing personal and business finances effectively. Excel provides powerful tools to create a customized budget that tracks income, expenses, and savings in real-time.

With formulas, charts, and automation, you can gain better financial control and make informed decisions about your spending and savings. Getting started is easier than you might think. Excel offers pre-made budget templates that can save you time. But I prefer building custom spreadsheets tailored to each client’s unique needs. This way, we can include specific categories and calculations that make sense for their financial situation. The key to a useful budget spreadsheet is consistency.

I always advise my clients to update their Excel budget regularly, inputting income and expenses as they occur. This habit provides real-time insights into spending patterns and helps identify areas for potential savings. I’ll guide you through the essential steps to prepare your Excel workspace for budget creation. This involves familiarizing yourself with the interface, mastering key formulas, and starting a new spreadsheet. Excel’s interface is designed for efficiency and data manipulation. The Ribbon at the top contains tabs like Home, Insert, and Formulas.

Each tab has groups of related commands. The Quick Access Toolbar lets me add frequently used commands for easy access. Find customizable budget templates for Microsoft Excel to simplify budgeting that helps monitor spending, plan savings, and stay on track financially. Browse easy‑to‑use budget templates for tracking expenses, planning monthly spending as well as organizing business and personal financial goals. In your browser, explore Excel budget spreadsheet templates Double click on the budget spreadsheet template you want to use

Replace the cell values and naming with the required information Last Updated: March 10, 2025 Fact Checked This article was co-authored by Cassandra Lenfert, CPA, CFP®. Cassandra Lenfert is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) in Colorado. She advises clients nationwide through her tax firm, Cassandra Lenfert, CPA, LLC. With over 15 years of tax, accounting, and personal finance experience, Cassandra specializes in working with individuals and small businesses on proactive tax planning to help them keep more money to reach their goals.

She received her BA in Accounting from the University of Southern Indiana in 2006. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 295,879 times. A budget spreadsheet is used to help you control your expenses. You will be surprised at how easy it is to keep your finances in line with this tool. You can use this budget spreadsheet as a guide to pay off bills, save money for retirement or large purchases, or just make it until the next paycheck without getting into debt.

In any case, you will find you are closer to financial freedom than ever before. To create a budget spreadsheet, start by opening a new spreadsheet and creating columns for things like amounts, due dates, and paid dates. Then, create cells to record your income sources, like your monthly pay, followed by cells to record expenses, such as food and housing. Under the individual income sources and expenses, make a cell that calculates your total income and one that calculates total expenses. Finally, at the bottom of the sheet, create a cell that subtracts your total expenses from your total income to get the cash balance. For advice from our Accounting reviewer on how to use a budget spreadsheet to cut down on your expenses, read on!

How To Do A Budget Spreadsheet On Excel

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