A reader recently asked me if I knew of any good and free budgeting spreadsheets. Personally, I love Excel and get a kick out of building spreadsheets, but I know not everyone is as interested in that as I am. 😉
But whether you like to create spreadsheets or just like to use them, we have a lot of good options for you!
Each one of the sheets below are free and are designed to be used with Excel, but will more than likely work if you use OpenOffice (basically a free version of Microsoft Office).
Some may also work with Google Docs, but I have had bad luck with some of my imports into Google Docs.
Each of the budgeting sheets below have their own strengths and weaknesses, so give try them out, see what works, and make tweaks and changes if necessary. If you have a spreadsheet that you have built or have found (that is free to distribute) please provide a link to it in the comments below.
And since we are talking about free spreadsheets, I will tell you about one I built and use. It isn’t necessarily for budgeting, but it really helps keep our finances organized.
FLOP (Financial Life on One Page) – Basically my balance sheet to calculate my Net Worth, keeps track of account numbers, and other information about all my financial accounts.
If you are just getting started budgeting, I suggest reading this article first: How to make a budget. Once you are finished, you can look through the 70+ sample budgeting categories and then come back to this article and download one of these sheets.
Household budgeting Spreadsheets
Here are all the personal budgeting templates listed in no particular order. If you want to see them in action you can check out this video here.
This sheet provides you with all of the possible categories to create your wedding budget, a place to estimate your spend as well as tracking your actual spend.
This is a really cool spreadsheet that helps you decide the best method for paying down your debts. It allows you to create a debt reduction schedule based on the debt-snowball method. The first page is a basic calculator for you to enter your information, choose your total monthly payment, and see a summary of the results based your debt reduction strategy. The second page is a printable payment schedule to help you keep track of your progress.
A famous old Microsoft budgeting template. It is very simple but has proven to be helpful with the 2,000,000+ downloads. I like this one because all it does is provides a sheet to add up your expenses and your income showing the difference.
If you are just getting started budgeting I suggest reading two articles I wrote – How to make a budget and why budgeting is like baking cookies. From personal experience, I can assure you that you won’t get it right the first month. It’s okay, just keep making adjustments and it will get better and easier each month.
Budgeting of some sort is critical if you want to master your finances or get out of debt.
If you are just starting, I wish you all the best and let us know about what you learn in the comments! Also, be sure to check out the article I wrote listing 15 places to get free budgeting software.
Tips to put more money in your pocket & Biblical principles on managing it well.
Better manage your money, pay off debt, save more, using key Biblical principles!
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Bob Lotich is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance (CEPF®) and has over 10+ years experience writing about Biblical personal finance and is the best-selling author of 4 books including Managing Money God's Way and has been named a top 20 social influencer in personal finance. His writing has been featured on Forbes, The Huffington Post, Yahoo Finance, CBN, Crosswalk, Patheos and others. He has been a full-time writer since 2008 and loves uncovering financial wisdom in the Bible as well as discovering the best tools and strategies to help you put more money in your pocket.
Hi
I as i was going through ur site i found some interesting articles…so i wud like to deal with u.. i have Good pr pages & content pages too…i am ready to give u some content pages link… and want u to become my link partner…
So if ur interested in this deal then plz contact me at:
Thanks for the templates. There are some really good ones there.
I find that using excel or any computer based budgeting application is easier than using a paper based budgeting system as it allows you to run calculations alot quicker, save copies and print – hey aren’t computers just great! 🙂
Hey all,
I’m the one who created the Budget Ministry Spreadsheet. I think what Bob created is great, and I’m glad to see it.
I think it’s great that there are free budgets available now. I created an excel (or calc) yearly budget based on the envelopes idea. My wife and I have been using it since we were married and I’m convinced it has saved us many difficult conversations. Whether you use mine or another, it’s worth all the effort. I hope that God blesses you through this journey and grows us in the wisdom of good stewardship!
Thanks for the mention of the Ministry spreadsheet, Dave.
I’m not a spreadsheet guy, far from it so went a’Googling for something pre-made to help with my financial madness.
Yours has been the best one I’ve managed to find thus far (just had to unprotect all the worksheets first)
Thanks heap, my friend.
nadia begsays
thats the good job for the housewives ..to abt the unwanted expenses….
When I clicked on Quickin Online free, it took me to Mint, which they say is their wholly owned subsidiary, and when I signed up, it wanted my bank account! I stopped there. In short, it seems that there is no Quickin Online free that doesn’t get the system staff into your personal bank account. I also tried to find another route to Quicken Online, but all Google options led to the same Mint web page.
Mint is actually a very good site, they ask for your information but that is so you can actually track your expenses. I did it a few years back and it is helpful. You can set up a budget and it shows you how much you are actually spending versus what you average you spend
Catrinasays
I enjoyed using Mint. They use the information to keep you up to date with your banking balances. I’ve never been charged for it.
Joshua Timothy Estessays
Thanks Bob for this priceless financial advice. Thank you also for providing this advice through a Christian vantage point. I sincerely appreciate the time and effort that you’ve put into this site.
Hi Bob,
Could you please let me know where the”Household Budget Template” in this post came from? I had downloaded it long ago and improvised upon it. Now i want to upload mine on my blog giving credits to the person who developed the original one. But I have no idea who. Could you please help me on this?
Please can anyone say, is there a spreadsheet that makes predictions visibly, when you enter say all your direct debits, income, then your spending plans, it will show coloured lines (income, outgoing, actual cash level) i mean, there will be your actual cash level from work, directdebits, regular expediture you put in, then your actual cashlevel – so you can see if purchasing that coat on jan1st will mean you’re not going to manage to pay your phone bill, and if you purchase it jan 15th it will be ok? And so i can ram it through my thick brain in a baby-simple visual way what the impact of my purchasing decisions will be before i live them? I know i need to write it myself, but i am too lazy. Thanks if you know one, not important if you don’t. I’m poor, but the problem is anything, even chocolate for easter, throws out my budget as it’s minute.
@Dee
After a disaster involving my internet disconnecting itself while upgrading my security package, i have been reliant on WOT = web of trust, an addon for firefox (firefox=browser, addon you can google, or addon WOT) it’s been amazing, it blocks sites with poor reputations even when you click on them and it shows ratings for how safe links and sites are, i use bym to black my monitor (eyes, environment) so i can’t see the links (bym is great but not perfect) but WOT still works. It works on people rating sites, i think internet explorer has similar features, but i know this has protected my security for free lots. Also, if you have an unusual (eg firefox or something) or latest (latest IE for instance) browser and set it to automatic security upgrades, you will be pretty secure for free. Also there are plenty of christian addons for firefox eg porn blockers and stuff.
I’m excited to try these! Thanks so much for sharing them.
{And I love that I found them on a Christian site and there are links in the sidebar to ways to look at my money from a Christian standpoint. This is great!}
Hi Bob,
This is great info I teach a computer class to Veterans and they learn Excel. They are always asking about different spreadsheets I will link them here..
I think these spreadsheets are excellent tools. There is spreadsheets for every financial scenario a person may have. I also think they are timesavers. It gives a person a quick overview of their finances without have to take the time to create the spreadsheet. The more information, the better.
I would like to use the first spreadsheet listed, the Personal Budgeting Spreadsheet, but the pages are protected and it will not allow me to make changes to the months. Has anyone else had this problem and could you please tell me how to make changes?
these budget sheets are great for first time budgeters!
are they available in other currencies? i wouldlikeone in Rand (ZAR)
please let me know if this is possible.
I have downloaded your wonderful Excel spreadsheet (personal budgeting spreadsheet). It is exactly what we are looking for to get our finances organized, however I am having the hardest time because we have more yearly variable expenses that the spreadsheet allows. When I insert rows and add in the additional information it does not transfer to the other monthly sheets.
I don’t use a spreadsheet (since spreadsheets are a bit overwhelming for me), but I found a super simple software that’s better for me. Search for ‘Innoslice’. this one gives the simplest way of entering daily expenses and tracking them. You should try this out before going to spreadsheets.
So, I’m looking for a bill tracking spreadsheet that has 2 parts. The first I want to be just a running ledger like an online bank ledger… I.E. with columns for date, company paid, amount paid which gets deducted from the balance, an ‘income’ field for payments in, and a running balance. On another part, I would like to take individual companies and keep a running tab.. i.e. the ledger will show a mortgage payment every month, and on a separate sheet it will just show the deductions for the mortgage co.
Suggestions?
I’m NOT looking at creating a budget or using budgeting software… just tracking current bills and expenses.
Thank you so much for these spreadsheets. I just started using the personal budget worksheet, and it’s fantastic. I can finally keep track of all my finances.
HELP!!!! I have no clue what I’m to do I know I need to set a Budget and I know that it would help my Family as well give me some peace of mind when it comes to money but I don’t know where to start?????????
I’m now not certain the place you’re getting your info, but great topic. I needs to spend some time finding out much more or understanding more. Thank you for wonderful information I was in search of this information for my mission.
It has very useful information!
I think we can use an expense management software on web or mobile either. Therefore it is available everywhere and whenever I need to record any expense. I try Costsbook it is so simple and helps me and my family a lot in better planning.
It has very useful information!
I think we can use an expense management software on web or mobile either. Therefore it is available everywhere and whenever I need to record any expense. I try Costsbook it is so simple and helps me and my family a lot in better planning.
Hi, As I was checking out your site I some how got linked to ingdirect.com please tell me if this is an OK site. I some how thought it was part of your site.
Hi Bob,
Thanks for providing such an excellent resource for general use. I’m actually looking for a spreadsheet which to keep track of rental properties, keep track of a small business and also track personal finance.
Getting these three coordinated I find to be mind boggling. Do you have any programs which might be helpful or can you provide any solutions?
Thanks again for all your efforts.
Jeff
Jeff, you’re going to love WaveAccounting.com. I just set it up for my website over at The Christian Dollar. You can track your personal and business finances all in one place! Let me know how it works out for you!
Nikisays
Hi there,
I’ve downloaded the Personal Monthly Budget spreadsheet which seems like an amazing tool and exactly what I’m looking for. I’ve unprotected all of the sheets so that I can add my own info, but I’m finding that if I modify the Master Budget (the 1st sheet), these changes don’t correspond to the monthly sheets. When I change an amount in the Master Budget, it also doesn’t calculate it correctly in the total. For example, if I change the monthly mortgage from $700 to $2318, the total is still $2867. Am I doing something wrong? Please let me know how to fix this. I’m so excited to use this tool!
I’ve been using the Household Budget Template. It fits me and my needs wonderfully. I do need to change some of the budget categories and the sub-lists that go with them. I went to Data Validation to change those and it just adds what I put, it doesn’t change them. How do I change those categories and sub-lists?
Thanks for this. I have recently launched a site about budgeting so it’s nice to see that you share other people’s spreadsheets in addition to yours. I have been building my own but think I’ll start passing the love to some of the other blogs out there that also have created their own spreadsheets.
Hey there! This is kind of off topic but I need some help from an established blog.
Is it hard to set up your own blog? I’m not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty quick. I’m thinking about setting
up my own but I’m not sure where to begin. Do you have any points or suggestions? With thanks
I have been using the Dave Ramsey budgeting techniques for years and can attest to the value of a good budget. What I have yet to find is a good budget spreadsheet. I have tried the personal Quicken, YNAB, and several of my own creation. My issue seems to be that my income is not as fixed as most budgets want it to be. I get paid bi-weekly and my wife is paid monthly. I get expense checks paid to me at random times. I have expenses for work as well as the costs of supplementing other households in the family. My budget has grown complicated to say the least.
Anyway, what I want is a spreadsheet that will help me allocate and track according to weekly schedules. A monthly schedule is not really adequate when you consider I may budget $1000 for the monthly groceries, but only have $200 available this week. Any ideas?
When did you try YNAB? I have been using YNAB since late 2009 and I think there is nothing that addresses your perceived needs better. Try ain’t again free for 30 days.
Paulasays
Muchas Gracias!…I am starting to organize my finances after tons of mistakes…Gracias!!! JUST WHAT I NEEDED!
Just what I was looking for! Thanks!
Hi Bob, do you have any spreadsheets that work with MacBooks?
all of them should! Every one is either XLS or google sheets and you should be able to open both on a Mac
No problem! Christina I will check it out… Thanks!
These are great. I think I have finally found something I can use.
Hi
I as i was going through ur site i found some interesting articles…so i wud like to deal with u.. i have Good pr pages & content pages too…i am ready to give u some content pages link… and want u to become my link partner…
So if ur interested in this deal then plz contact me at:
shellybrown1984(at)gmail.com
Waiting for ur reply.
Thanks & regards
Shelly
Thanks for the templates. There are some really good ones there.
I find that using excel or any computer based budgeting application is easier than using a paper based budgeting system as it allows you to run calculations alot quicker, save copies and print – hey aren’t computers just great! 🙂
Agreed – I wouldn’t want to do my budgeting on paper!! Excel is my friend and makes my life a lot easier!!
Thanks for your hard work. These are great!
This couldn’t have come at a better time in our economy. Thanks for sharing this.
I don’t mean to offend anyone but was wondering….how do I know that the spreadsheets are safe to download?
I keep hearing so many horror stories of identity theft that I just don’t know what is safe…..or am I just paranoid for no reason? 🙂
Hey all,
I’m the one who created the Budget Ministry Spreadsheet. I think what Bob created is great, and I’m glad to see it.
I think it’s great that there are free budgets available now. I created an excel (or calc) yearly budget based on the envelopes idea. My wife and I have been using it since we were married and I’m convinced it has saved us many difficult conversations. Whether you use mine or another, it’s worth all the effort. I hope that God blesses you through this journey and grows us in the wisdom of good stewardship!
grace and peace,
square
Thanks for the mention of the Ministry spreadsheet, Dave.
I’m not a spreadsheet guy, far from it so went a’Googling for something pre-made to help with my financial madness.
Yours has been the best one I’ve managed to find thus far (just had to unprotect all the worksheets first)
Thanks heap, my friend.
thats the good job for the housewives ..to abt the unwanted expenses….
I used the Bill Payment Schedule spreadsheet, I altered it to fit me better, but its awesome, Thanks.
When I clicked on Quickin Online free, it took me to Mint, which they say is their wholly owned subsidiary, and when I signed up, it wanted my bank account! I stopped there. In short, it seems that there is no Quickin Online free that doesn’t get the system staff into your personal bank account. I also tried to find another route to Quicken Online, but all Google options led to the same Mint web page.
Mint is actually a very good site, they ask for your information but that is so you can actually track your expenses. I did it a few years back and it is helpful. You can set up a budget and it shows you how much you are actually spending versus what you average you spend
I enjoyed using Mint. They use the information to keep you up to date with your banking balances. I’ve never been charged for it.
Thanks Bob for this priceless financial advice. Thank you also for providing this advice through a Christian vantage point. I sincerely appreciate the time and effort that you’ve put into this site.
Hi Bob,
Could you please let me know where the”Household Budget Template” in this post came from? I had downloaded it long ago and improvised upon it. Now i want to upload mine on my blog giving credits to the person who developed the original one. But I have no idea who. Could you please help me on this?
Thanks!
Please can anyone say, is there a spreadsheet that makes predictions visibly, when you enter say all your direct debits, income, then your spending plans, it will show coloured lines (income, outgoing, actual cash level) i mean, there will be your actual cash level from work, directdebits, regular expediture you put in, then your actual cashlevel – so you can see if purchasing that coat on jan1st will mean you’re not going to manage to pay your phone bill, and if you purchase it jan 15th it will be ok? And so i can ram it through my thick brain in a baby-simple visual way what the impact of my purchasing decisions will be before i live them? I know i need to write it myself, but i am too lazy. Thanks if you know one, not important if you don’t. I’m poor, but the problem is anything, even chocolate for easter, throws out my budget as it’s minute.
@Dee
After a disaster involving my internet disconnecting itself while upgrading my security package, i have been reliant on WOT = web of trust, an addon for firefox (firefox=browser, addon you can google, or addon WOT) it’s been amazing, it blocks sites with poor reputations even when you click on them and it shows ratings for how safe links and sites are, i use bym to black my monitor (eyes, environment) so i can’t see the links (bym is great but not perfect) but WOT still works. It works on people rating sites, i think internet explorer has similar features, but i know this has protected my security for free lots. Also, if you have an unusual (eg firefox or something) or latest (latest IE for instance) browser and set it to automatic security upgrades, you will be pretty secure for free. Also there are plenty of christian addons for firefox eg porn blockers and stuff.
I’m excited to try these! Thanks so much for sharing them.
{And I love that I found them on a Christian site and there are links in the sidebar to ways to look at my money from a Christian standpoint. This is great!}
Hi Bob,
This is great info I teach a computer class to Veterans and they learn Excel. They are always asking about different spreadsheets I will link them here..
Peace,
Tanya
I think these spreadsheets are excellent tools. There is spreadsheets for every financial scenario a person may have. I also think they are timesavers. It gives a person a quick overview of their finances without have to take the time to create the spreadsheet. The more information, the better.
I would like to use the first spreadsheet listed, the Personal Budgeting Spreadsheet, but the pages are protected and it will not allow me to make changes to the months. Has anyone else had this problem and could you please tell me how to make changes?
Thank you!
hello,
these budget sheets are great for first time budgeters!
are they available in other currencies? i wouldlikeone in Rand (ZAR)
please let me know if this is possible.
thank you,
I have downloaded your wonderful Excel spreadsheet (personal budgeting spreadsheet). It is exactly what we are looking for to get our finances organized, however I am having the hardest time because we have more yearly variable expenses that the spreadsheet allows. When I insert rows and add in the additional information it does not transfer to the other monthly sheets.
I need 27 rows.
I don’t use a spreadsheet (since spreadsheets are a bit overwhelming for me), but I found a super simple software that’s better for me. Search for ‘Innoslice’. this one gives the simplest way of entering daily expenses and tracking them. You should try this out before going to spreadsheets.
I cannot seem to get the personal budget template to download. Is there something I need to do differently other than just clicking?
Thanks so much!!
@Shannon, when you click the link it should pop up a window to download it – if not, shoot me an email and we can figure it out… seedtime.com/contact
I’d like to point out OpenOffice is not a “free version of Microsoft Office.” It’s a free _alternative_ to Microsoft Office.
Help.
So, I’m looking for a bill tracking spreadsheet that has 2 parts. The first I want to be just a running ledger like an online bank ledger… I.E. with columns for date, company paid, amount paid which gets deducted from the balance, an ‘income’ field for payments in, and a running balance. On another part, I would like to take individual companies and keep a running tab.. i.e. the ledger will show a mortgage payment every month, and on a separate sheet it will just show the deductions for the mortgage co.
Suggestions?
I’m NOT looking at creating a budget or using budgeting software… just tracking current bills and expenses.
Thanks for any replies.
Thank you so much for these spreadsheets. I just started using the personal budget worksheet, and it’s fantastic. I can finally keep track of all my finances.
Thank You 🙂
Anyone have a Debt Reduction spreadsheet that can deal with promotional rates?
Thanks for the excel spreadsheets. I am going to be sure to use them and pass it on,
Started using one…finally found one both my wife and I can use.
I loved these sheets, makes my budget making and keeping up with so much easier. Many thanks.
HELP!!!! I have no clue what I’m to do I know I need to set a Budget and I know that it would help my Family as well give me some peace of mind when it comes to money but I don’t know where to start?????????
Bob,
Thank you for another great article!
I was wondering if you would “make up” a budget for a small business with sample categories?
Thank you in advance!
~B
I’m now not certain the place you’re getting your info, but great topic. I needs to spend some time finding out much more or understanding more. Thank you for wonderful information I was in search of this information for my mission.
It has very useful information!
I think we can use an expense management software on web or mobile either. Therefore it is available everywhere and whenever I need to record any expense. I try Costsbook it is so simple and helps me and my family a lot in better planning.
It has very useful information!
I think we can use an expense management software on web or mobile either. Therefore it is available everywhere and whenever I need to record any expense. I try Costsbook it is so simple and helps me and my family a lot in better planning.
Loved sharing your helpful budget forms! I shared them on my website along with daily resourceful tips! Come on over and see!
Hi, As I was checking out your site I some how got linked to ingdirect.com please tell me if this is an OK site. I some how thought it was part of your site.
Thanks,
Barbara
Hi Bob,
Thanks for providing such an excellent resource for general use. I’m actually looking for a spreadsheet which to keep track of rental properties, keep track of a small business and also track personal finance.
Getting these three coordinated I find to be mind boggling. Do you have any programs which might be helpful or can you provide any solutions?
Thanks again for all your efforts.
Jeff
Jeff, you’re going to love WaveAccounting.com. I just set it up for my website over at The Christian Dollar. You can track your personal and business finances all in one place! Let me know how it works out for you!
Hi there,
I’ve downloaded the Personal Monthly Budget spreadsheet which seems like an amazing tool and exactly what I’m looking for. I’ve unprotected all of the sheets so that I can add my own info, but I’m finding that if I modify the Master Budget (the 1st sheet), these changes don’t correspond to the monthly sheets. When I change an amount in the Master Budget, it also doesn’t calculate it correctly in the total. For example, if I change the monthly mortgage from $700 to $2318, the total is still $2867. Am I doing something wrong? Please let me know how to fix this. I’m so excited to use this tool!
I’ve been using the Household Budget Template. It fits me and my needs wonderfully. I do need to change some of the budget categories and the sub-lists that go with them. I went to Data Validation to change those and it just adds what I put, it doesn’t change them. How do I change those categories and sub-lists?
Thanks for this. I have recently launched a site about budgeting so it’s nice to see that you share other people’s spreadsheets in addition to yours. I have been building my own but think I’ll start passing the love to some of the other blogs out there that also have created their own spreadsheets.
These spreadsheets are awesome! But would you be able to make a Weekly Time Budget?
thank you!
Hey there! This is kind of off topic but I need some help from an established blog.
Is it hard to set up your own blog? I’m not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty quick. I’m thinking about setting
up my own but I’m not sure where to begin. Do you have any points or suggestions? With thanks
Wow exactly what i was looking for, love these spreadsheets 🙂
I have been using the Dave Ramsey budgeting techniques for years and can attest to the value of a good budget. What I have yet to find is a good budget spreadsheet. I have tried the personal Quicken, YNAB, and several of my own creation. My issue seems to be that my income is not as fixed as most budgets want it to be. I get paid bi-weekly and my wife is paid monthly. I get expense checks paid to me at random times. I have expenses for work as well as the costs of supplementing other households in the family. My budget has grown complicated to say the least.
Anyway, what I want is a spreadsheet that will help me allocate and track according to weekly schedules. A monthly schedule is not really adequate when you consider I may budget $1000 for the monthly groceries, but only have $200 available this week. Any ideas?
When did you try YNAB? I have been using YNAB since late 2009 and I think there is nothing that addresses your perceived needs better. Try ain’t again free for 30 days.
Muchas Gracias!…I am starting to organize my finances after tons of mistakes…Gracias!!! JUST WHAT I NEEDED!
Hi. My husband and i are just starting out with a structured budget and I am pleased to find such a comprehensive and easy-to-use tool. Thanks!