Budgeting Worksheets

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com | FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY | DO NOT COPY OR SHARE Page 1

Introduction
I might as well lead with the obvious: No one really likes
budgeting. And even though I’m an accountant by trade, I don’t
like to do it for my personal finances either.
However, I don’t think it’s the actual “budgeting” part that we

don’t like. It’s the accountability and the perceived restrictions
we have when using a monthly budget.
But in all honesty, I’m pretty sure we’ve just been thinking about budgeting all wrong.
What if, instead of seeing budgeting as a constraint not to spend money, we thought
of it as a freedom to spend our money.
Picture this, you are at an amusement park with your family. But you just had your
annual eyes check-up, and they used those drops that make your vision kinda blurry.
You weren’t aware that you’d have that kind of side effect from a regular checkup and
some silly drops… and you’ve had this amusement trip planned for almost a year.
You are not skipping that trip.
So you head to the park, blurry eyed and all. Hey, it won’t ruin the roller coasters, you
were keeping your eyes shut on those anyway! But in order to successfully navigate
through the sea of people all jumping in front of you… you need a good guide.
So one of your sweet children takes you by the hand and helps you navigate the
crowds. And you have a wonderful family day.
In the same way your child guided you through the amusement park, a budget is a
guide for your wallet.
Although I know a budget is no fun (whereas an amusement park has the churro
perks), a budget is going to help you feel less guilty about spending money as well as
help you achieve progress to reduce debt. All while still being able to enjoy the
splurge of eating out or going to an amusement park :)
If you can stick with it long enough to see a couple financial successes happen (such
as paying off one debt, or saving up for a vacation) then you’ll start to recognize
budgeting as the catalyst to the freedom it can help you achieve (for REAL!!).
Speaking from experience, facing those bills, or late notices can be downright scary.
And embarrassing. They cause feelings of guilt, disappointment and hopelessness.
I promise, the easiest way to change your financial future, begins with filling in these
little sheets below: your budget. Let’s get started right away!
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Let’s Do This!
We’ve all made financial mistakes before, so the first thing you need to realize is that
if you are trying to get a handle on your finances, you are not alone in this struggle to
control your financial situation.
The absolute hardest part about working a budget is getting started. And by
downloading these sheets, you’ve already conquered that! Bravo!
Now that you’ve decided to begin, I need to warn you about two other hard parts.
The first one comes when you have to make the hard decisions of which expenses to
cut. I’m sorry, but that is just not fun.
The last hard part is when you realize that you are going to need to visit these sheets
every month until it becomes a habit.
If you truly want to master your finances and never worry about money again, then
you have to complete them monthly. It won’t take you much time each month (less
than an hour). And obviously as you consistently do it, you’ll get faster at it.
Right now, make it a date with your spouse, and set a monthly alarm on your calendar
to remind you to keep it.
Okay, now that the “bad news’ is out of the way, let’s get working on the actual
budget.
In its simplest form, a budget is just tracking numbers and making sure that your
money is being spent the way you want it to be spent each month.
To determine that, the first step is finding and plugging in numbers.
You’ll be most successful if you use your spending from last month.
However, you could take your income (a number we usually know off the top of our
head) and fill in the rest of the numbers based on what you WANT them to be. Then,
when you hear your alarm to do your “Budget Check-In” in 30 days, look back at your
spending and see how you did.
That is a super simply way to ease in to the budgeting process. This month you’ll
identify the dollar amounts you want to spend. Then next month you look at how you
actually spent and compare the two to get a good picture for what you need to
change.
If you are really excited to jump right in. Then by all means get that prior month
spending and start plugging in your actual numbers today! Gather your credit card
bills and checking statements from last month and plug in the numbers based on
where your spending happened.
Identify the difference between what you thought you should be spending (your
budgeted number) and your actual number. The most important part is to make sure
that you account for every single dollar of your income.
In the accounting field we call this a “zero based budget” because when you subtract
all the expenses from the income, they should equal zero.
In other words, you’ve identified a place for every single dollar to go.
If you have extra money after you’ve identified every expense, then the extra money
should go towards extra debt payments, or savings.
If you are like me and the number is negative (meaning we don’t have enough money
to cover all our spending), then you have to rework the numbers until it makes sense
for your family (and equals zero).
So let me put the “formula” here: Income - Expenses = Zero
Every single dollar you make should go somewhere. Even better if you have extra
that can go to a vacation fund, or miscellaneous fun spending!
Download the electronic version of these forms here so that you can just fill in the
numbers and it will calculate everything for you.
The reason I like to fill in an electronic form is so that I can automatically see the
percentage “gauge” for what we should be spending.
The paper form will “stick” most in your head so I’ve included that same form below
so you can fill it out by hand if you prefer.
Okay, that’s enough for now. It’s time to truly get going!
Remember, click here to access the budgeting templates.
And if you’d like to push the easy button on your finances by managing your monthly
spending with simple auto-calculating spreadsheets, then you’ll wanna check out
magically simple Cash Flow Formula here.
Oh, one quick last thing. I’m only an email away. If you have any questions at all,
simple email me at Kati@TrueMoneySaver.com.
Happy Budgeting!
~Kati Kiefer
Budgeting Checklist
MONTH: __________________________________
The Steps To Successfully Budget

Gather bank account and credit card statements from last month.
Think about other bills that are paid once a year. You might want to review your bank account
statements to look for them.
Use colored highlighters to highlight each income or payment and assign it to a category on
the worksheet.
Write down the amount of income you made this month.
Add up each payment from your individual transactions and write it in the correct category on
your sheet.
Add up each category and write it on your Monthly Spending Summary Sheet
Calculate the differences between what you expected to spend, and what you actually spent.
Was there a difference? If so, why?
Think about what you want to spend next month. Do you want to spend the same amount for
each category? Or do you want to shift your spending in certain areas?
Complete the Monthly Check-In to think about your goals for next month, 3 months from now,
6 months from now and a goal for the year.
Set an alarm on your calendar to complete the Monthly Check In after 30 days.
NOTES:
Monthly Budget Planner
Income Expected Actual Difference Month & Year
Wages
Refunds/Reimbursements Giving Expected Actual Difference
Transfer From Savings Tithe
Total Income Other Giving
Total Giving
Housing Expected Actual Difference
Mortgage/Rent Saving Expected Actual Difference
Home Security Emergency Fund
Insurance Long-Term Savings
Taxes/Fees Vacation
Neighborhood HOA College
Home Repair/Improvement Retirement
Total Housing Life Insurance
Total Savings
Utilities Expected Actual Difference
Electricity Food Expected Actual Difference
Gas/Propane Groceries
Water Restaurants/Eating Out
Home Telephone Pets
Mobile Telephone Total Saving
Internet
TV Cable Transportation Expected Actual Difference
Netflix/Hulu Gas/Fuel
Total Utilities Auto Insurance
Repairs/Maintentance
Household Expected Actual Difference Plates/Tag/Registration
Toiletries/Cleaning Supplies Parking Permits
Laundry/Dry Cleaning Total Transportation
Housecleaning Service
Office Supplies (Printer Ink) Personal Expected Actual Difference
Furniture/Décor Clothing
Total Household Shoes
Salon/Barber
Health Expected Actual Difference Total Personal
Insurance
Co-Payments Fun/Entertainment Expected Actual Difference
Vitamins/Prescriptions Birthday Gifts
Over-the-Counter Meds Books/Music/Photo Printing
Dentist/Orthodontist Movies/Family Fun
Optometrist Date Nights
Pet Veterinarian Babysitting
Total Health Misc Cash Spending Money
Sports Equipment
Debts Expected Actual Difference Gym Membership
Car Payment Newspaper Subscription
Student Loans Magazine Subscription
Credit Card Debt Concerts/Clubs
Total Debts Total Fun/Entertainment
Monthly Budget Summary
Month & Year
TOTAL INCOME $
PAYMENTS EXPECTED ACTUAL DIFFERENCE

Total Giving $ $ $
Total Savings $ $ $
Total Housing $ $ $
Total Utilities $ $ $
Total Food $ $ $
Total Transportation $ $ $
Total Household $ $ $
Total Personal $ $ $
Total Health $ $ $
Total Fun/Entertainment $ $ $
Total Debt $ $ $
TOTAL PAYMENTS $ $ $
NET (Income-Expenses) $
(This should be zero)
Monthly Check-In
Month & Year
Money Summary:
Total Income This Month:
Total Expenses This Month:
Any extra income you were surprised by?
Any expenses that caught you off guard?
How did it go last month?

Things that went well: Things we need to improve for this month:
Money Goals:
Next Month's Goal: 3 Month Goal:
6 Month Goal: 12 Month Goal:
HI I’M KATI!
Kati Kiefer is the founder of the
popular personal finance website,
TrueMoneySaver.com, which has
over 130,000 visitors each month.
She is passionate about helping

families get more for their money
so they can pay oﬀ debt and take a
fun family vacation without feeling
guilty (or using credit cards).
She’s held over 600 live workshops

and taught thousands of people
how to shop strategically in order
to get way more for their money so
they can pay it forward and help
others.
She loves nothing more than to see

people use her steps to crush debt,
take lavish vacations and bless
others out of their abundance.
Your money saving journey starts

today.
TrueMoneySaver.com

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© 2020 TrueMoneySaver.

com | FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY | DO NOT COPY OR SHARE Page 1

However, I don’t think it’s the actual “budgeting” part that we

You are not skipping that trip.

To determine that, the first step is finding and plugging in numbers.

So let me put the “formula” here: Income - Expenses = Zero

Remember, click here to access the budgeting templates.

The Steps To Successfully Budget

Write down the amount of income you made this month.

Month & Year

PAYMENTS EXPECTED ACTUAL DIFFERENCE

How did it go last month?

6 Month Goal: 12 Month Goal:

She is passionate about helping

She’s held over 600 live workshops

She loves nothing more than to see

Your money saving journey starts

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