A budget is the cornerstone of personal finance. It provides essential information: how much money is coming in, how much is going out, and where it’s going. With a budget, reaching financial goals like paying off debt, saving for a home, or saving for retirement is much easier.
A household budget template is an effective budgeting tool. Providing a clear picture of your income, expenses, and financial goals can help you make informed decisions and take control of your financial future.
Two of the templates highlighted below are powered by Tiller, which means transactions from all of your accounts will automatically update within the template–no manual imports required!
The best household budget templates
- 50/30/20 Template by Tiller
- Budget Tracking Tool Template by The Measure Of A Plan
- Simple Budget Template by SmartSheet
- Google Sheets Monthly Budget Template by Template.net
- Weekly Budget Worksheet by Smartsheet
- Budget Planner by 20 Something Finance
- The Budget that Helped a Family Save 60% of Their Income
- Budget and Transaction Tracker with Google Sheets
- Annual Budget by Google Sheets
- Tiller’s Monthly Budget Calendar for Google Sheets
What is a household budget template?
A household budget template is a structured framework, typically in a spreadsheet format, designed to track and manage household expenses. It categorizes your income sources, fixed expenses, variable expenses, and savings. Using a template allows you to easily identify spending patterns, cut unnecessary expenses, and allocate each dollar more efficiently.
Templates can be tailored to your unique needs whether you’re single, a couple, or a family managing multiple income sources.
Choose a household budget template
There are lots of household budget templates available, but not all are created equally. Our criteria was:
● Functionality
● Ease of use
● Adaptability
These 13 household budget templates offer all of those. While some of these templates are general use, they are customizable to fit the needs of household budgeting.
50/30/20 Template by Tiller
I have been a personal finance writer for over a decade and have tried many budgeting methods, and the 50/30/20 method remains my favorite. It’s simple, customizable, and doesn’t require much time to set up or maintain. It works as follows:
● 50% of your net income is budgeted for essential expenses
● 30% is budgeted for non-essentials
● 20% is budgeted for financial goals
To use Tiller’s template, simply add your total net income and essential spending into the relevant cells, and the template will calculate how much you can devote to expenditures in each category. You can then use this information to create your budget.
As a template powered by Tiller, your transactions will automatically be filled into this template. No manual importing!
Budget Tracking Tool Template by The Measure Of A Plan
The Budget Tracking Tool by The Measure Of A Plan is a comprehensive Google Sheets template for all your budgeting needs. It features customizable categories, tabs for income expenses, budget targets, and a dashboard for a clear visual summary of spending and other key financial metrics.
Additional tabs allow users to analyze historical data and compare spending to budget targets. Although it may be more advanced than some users need, it is an excellent all-in-one option for detailed budgeting.
Simple Budget Template by SmartSheet
SmartSheet’s Simple Budget template offers a simple and efficient way to track household spending in one place. This template allows you to record multiple income sources within your household. It also includes dedicated sections for various spending categories, including essential, discretionary, and investment expenses.
Although the SmartSheet Simple Budget Template can be used in Excel or Google Sheets, it works best with SmartSheets. SmartSheet offers users collaborative features and advanced functionality beyond a basic spreadsheet, making it more effective for managing budgets between multiple people. While accessing and editing the template in Google Sheets is possible, you may miss out on key benefits like real-time updates and advanced visualization tools unique to SmartSheet.
Google Sheets Monthly Budget Template by Template.net
Track your spending in real time with Template.net’s Monthly Budget Template. It itemizes transactions, calculates totals, and highlights overspending. Simply enter the month, item details, and amounts, and it will show the differences between your set spending thresholds. With space for notes and comments, it helps you analyze trends and improve budgeting each month.
Weekly Budget Worksheet by Smartsheet
This SmartSheet template is tailored to assist you in managing your expenses weekly, making it ideal for those who receive a weekly paycheck or need to monitor their spending more closely.
For bi-weekly budgeting, check out the Bi-Weekly Budget Worksheet by ShartSheet. It offers the same functionality but is specifically designed for a bi-weekly budgeting schedule.
The Budget that Helped a Family Save 60% of Their Income
This “Epic Google Budget Template” helped The Penny Hoarder writer Melisssa Gillam Shaw’s family save $6,000 more than expected. If you want to join the FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) movement, this tool is for you.
Budget and Transaction Tracker with Google Sheets
This transaction tracker has a budget with clear instructions for modifying it to fit your needs or making your own from scratch.
Annual Budget by Google Sheets
Google Sheets’ native annual budget template provides an overview of yearly income and expenses. It’s best partnered with Sheets’ monthly budget template. At the end of each month, just transfer the totals for each category from the monthly template to the annual one for a broader view of your financial picture.
Tiller’s Monthly Budget Calendar for Google Sheets
This calendar budget template provides a clear view of your monthly expenses, allowing you to manage your money more effectively.
Tiller powers the Monthly Budget Calendar (but can be used without a Tiller subscription) and is a minimalist monthly budgeting tool for Google Sheets.
Setting up the monthly calendar is simple. Just set your monthly spending goal and then you can review your daily spending total and cumulative spending for the month. See how much you have left before reaching your target or before the end of the month, whichever comes first.
As a template powered by Tiller, your transactions will automatically be filled into this template to compare actual spending to your budget. No manual importing!
Tips for success
Any household budget template works only if you adhere to it. These are some tips to help you succeed:
● Be consistent: Update your budget regularly to account for changes in income or expenses.
● Review and adjust: Periodically review your budget to ensure it continues aligning with your financial goals.
● Be honest: Accurately record all expenses, no matter how large or small, for an accurate financial picture.
Conclusion
Using a household budget template makes managing your finances less stressful and more effective. Start simple, stick to it, and watch your financial health improve!
