So I know this has been promised for a long time now. But FINALLY, I got my self organised and have put together a family specific Budgeting Spreadsheet for you to download and use!

Here you should find everything you need to list in order to work out what your monthly spending looks like. The goal is that this can help you work out where you might be able to trim down and where you can potentially save more!

A few tips to set your budget…

1. I suggest going into your online banking and downloading the last three months of your spending. From both accounts and credit cards if you have them. From there I would create an average spend on things like utilities to pop into your budget.
2. Make things as easy as possible on yourself when gathering all your information. If you don’t already have access to your accounts online, then set this up. Things like Centrelink, superannuation, electricity, gas, water, phone, internet or even your Netflix account or insurances. Almost everything you should be able to get access to online and have your statements or reference to current payments and rates so you can fill this into your budget. CLICK HERE FOR MY PASSWORD TRACKER.
3. Sit down, with your partner if you have one, and have a look at what you’re really spending each month. Are there payments coming out you knew nothing about or perhaps thought you cancelled? Deal with this ASAP!! Spending $100’s on lunches? Maybe put a plan in place to reduce this?
4. Once you’ve filled out all the details, keep it updated every month and work out accurately what is being spent! Work out what you could potentially be saving by subtracting your spend from your income (the spreadsheet does this automatically for you) and take note that this is what you could be saving. This is a huge motivator to save that or more each month!
5. If you are spending more than you earn, well then to put it simply, you’re kind of fucked, right? If you want to save, or at least get yourself out of debt you need to be spending less than you make, it’s simple, right? At least by working out your budget on this sheet, you can see exactly what you’re making, spending and potentially where you can reduce your spend.

So let’s get this bad boy downloaded and start saving that money!!

How to download and use your spreadsheet?

Here is a quick guide on how to use the spreadsheet. I’ve created it in Google Sheets as I know not everyone has Excel but you can convert it to an Excel Spreadsheet if you would like.

1. Once you’ve opened the file, you need to go to “File” and “Make A Copy”. From there you can rename the file, I suggest noting the month and keeping it monthly. If your super savvy then create new tabs on the same sheet each month and duplicate it to a new tab each month.
2. If you want it as an Excel document, you can choose to “Download As” and select “Excel Document” (outlined below). The formulas will still work but you may lose some formatting.
3. Enter in your incomes first and get your income total. If one of these is blank, you still need to enter $0 for the formulas to work.
4. Every field needs to have a dollar value, even if it’s $0, to work. If you’re getting an error, check the rows and columns all have this input.
5. Once you have filled out all the relevant fields, go back at the end of the month and fill in your actual costs. This will give you exactly what you should have spent/saved and also works as a template for the following month to amend any incorrect costs.

I suggest scheduling in around 30 minutes to an hour each month. Perhaps a Thursday night, grab a wine, get the kids to bed and sit down together and go through everything and fill it out in the sheet.

For those after the manual printable of the spreadsheet, find it here!

Talking about where you can potentially save some money, I have some great blogs with ideas on meal planning, making extra side hustle money and decluttering that can save you heaps here:

Setting Your Finance Goals

7 Ways To Save Money Without Spending Any Less

An Essential Starter Guide To Saving Money

5 Side Hustle Ideas That Worked For Me