Why have a budget worksheet

It is essential for every family or individual to have a budget worksheet. A budget worksheet allows a family to enter the information about spending into a computer or to put it on paper before they pay for everything. Using a budget worksheet can help a family ensure that the bills get paid for and that they do not spend their money on wants before they spend it on their needs. It is important for any family, with any size of budget to have a budget worksheet.

Sample budgeting worksheet

A budgeting worksheet can be very simple. A person could write down their income, minus what they pay in taxes and what they put in savings, and/or retirement. Then they should put the total of what they can spend each month at the top of the worksheet. Being able to see how much they have to spend can help an individual not to overspend. Next the person should write down several categories, these could include their housing expense, their car expenses, the miscellaneous expenses such as their groceries, church offerings, childcare, medical copays, etc, and a person should also include any other debt payments they need to make each month. Each category should be divided up into subcategories. Car expenses should include repair and maintenance, insurance and gas. The housing expenses category should include things such as the rent or the mortgage, utilities, taxes, insurance, and repairs.

The totals of each category should be written to the side of each of the categories. At the bottom of the budget worksheet each total should be listed and then added up. The total of the monthly spending should be less or equal to that of the monthly income. If the total is more than the monthly income then the family needs to reevaluate their spending.

Total Monthly Income: $___________
Minus: Taxes, Health insurance, other: $_____
Minus: Savings, 401K, other: $_____
Total Monthly Spendable Income: $___________

Housing expenses:
Mortgage or rent $___________
Insurance$___________
Utilities $___________
Taxes $___________
Repairs $___________
Total: $___________

Car expenses:
Gas$___________
Car payment $___________
Insurance $___________
Repairs and maintenance $___________
Total: $___________

Miscellaneous
Groceries $___________
Newspaper subscription $___________
Haircuts $___________
Gifts $___________
Entertainment $___________
School Supplies $___________
Total $___________

Total monthly spending: $___________

This sample is a very basic monthly budget worksheet. Depending on the amount of the income, the number of people in the family, and the different areas where they spend their money, the budget worksheet could be as simple as this one or be more complex with a lot more categories.

For debt, or holidays

There can be budget worksheets for specific things as well. If a person needs to pay off debt, a budget worksheet specifically to help them pay off the debt can help them get things in order. A budget worksheet can show a person how much they can afford to spend each month to pay off their debt.

A person or family could also have a budget worksheet specifically for a holiday, such as Christmas. This budget worksheet can help them not spend more money than they have on gifts, decorations, or food for the holiday.

Any budget, any family

Any family or individual can have a budget worksheet. It does not matter how much a family or individual makes each month. They could make a lot of money or a little amount of money. A budget worksheet can help people not to overspend. It can help people to see how much money they have and where they are spending it.