Congratulations on taking your first step to creating a budget!

Follow these steps to start using your toolkit:

  1. Print the budget PDF and fill it out.  If you’re married or have a significant other than be sure to fill it out together.
  2. Print the tracking template and write every transaction to know where you stand throughout the month.
  3. BONUS: If you’d like to use the spreadsheet, then take your values from your PDF and enter them to keep an electronic budget complete with an easy way to track spending.

Thanks for your interest in The Family Finance Works Budgeting Toolkit!

Here are some instructions for using the spreadsheet (Google Sheet).

  1. When you open from the link, you’ll get the sheet in view-only mode.  You must save it to your Google account to use it.  Click File and then Make a copy.
  2. Enter the month and year in the Budget sheet, cell A5.
  3. Enter your take home or net income in the Budget sheet, cell A9.
  4. Enter your amounts for each category.  You can change the name of the columns or add new categories.  When you add your amounts, the sheet will calculate your totals and even indicate if you’re out of balance.  The idea is to get to zero.