Free Budget Template and Tips For Getting Started

A budget planner is a tool, such as a worksheet or template, that you can use to design your budget. A successful budget planner helps you decide how to best spend your money while avoiding or reducing debt.

NerdWallet's worksheet incorporates the 50/30/20 budget, which suggests that 50% of your income goes toward needs, 30% toward wants and 20% toward savings and debt repayment.

Before using the budget worksheet, gather key information

Before you get started with our free budget worksheet below, you’ll need some key financial information, including:

• Your take-home pay, or your monthly income after taxes. A pay stub will likely be the easiest place to find this information. 

• Your fixed expenses. These are things such as housing and utility payments, insurance premiums, debt or loan amounts, child care costs, memberships and other bills that stay the same each month. Check account statements to find recurring charges and their amounts.

• Your variable costs. These are expenses that change every month, including groceries, gas costs, shopping, dining out, travel and entertainment. You can look back at past transactions to estimate your spending in these categories.

• Your debts, including interest. Be sure to include credit card debt, medical debt and other kinds of debt in your monthly budget. 

» Learn how to budget for fixed and variable expenses

Having all of this information at hand will make calculating your budget much smoother and more accurate.

Free budget worksheet

Add your income and expenses to this monthly budget planner, and we'll show how your spending aligns with the 50/30/20 rule. You can use the worksheet to calculate your actual spending or planned spending for the month.

Other ways to budget

Try a different type of tool

If the planner above isn’t a good fit for you, explore our free budget template or other budget spreadsheets. Or, consider one of our picks for the best budget apps. Most apps sync with your financial accounts, so they can track and categorize expenses for you. Keep in mind that some budgeting apps are free, while others charge a monthly or annual fee.

If you’re looking for a more simplified snapshot, try our 50/30/20 budget calculator.

Try another budget system

If it’s the 50/30/20 income breakdown that doesn’t resonate with you, here are other budgeting systems that organize your spending in different ways:

• The 60/30/10 budget: If you like having structured spending guidance but find the 50/30/20 budget to be out of reach, consider the 60/30/10 budget. This method allocates a larger portion of income to needs and a smaller amount to savings, making it more suitable to those with lower incomes or in higher cost-of-living areas.

• Zero-based budget: People who overspend or are meticulous about tracking their cash flow may benefit from a zero-based budget. With this approach, you give every single dollar in your budget a purpose until you end up with zero dollars.  

• Cash envelope budget: This system may be effective for impulse spenders who want to control how much they spend. With the cash envelope system, you allocate a set amount of money to each item in your budget. You then create envelopes for each category and stuff the set amount of cash in them.

• Pay-yourself-first budget: Also known as reverse budgeting, pay-yourself-first budgeting involves tucking away money for things such as savings and investing first. The rest of your money can then go to other priorities, like bills or leisure. It can be an ideal system for people who aren’t interested in accounting for every penny. 

Once you’ve chosen your budgeting system, you can revisit picking a budget planner to help break you manage your money and put the numbers into perspective.

The best budget is one that works for you. Take time to tweak your approach and adjust your spending as needed until you reach your ideal budget.