Using tools that help you quickly create a budget means you save time without compromising the usefulness of your budget. The best way to set up a household budget is to use an app like Mint or a simple household budget template. What Is the Best Way to Set Up a Household Budget? Leftover money can be put toward savings, used to pay off debt, or used to make big purchases you’ve been planning for. Your income is the money you have to work with each month, while your expenses determine how much of that money you have left over. The basic elements of a household budget are income and expenses. What Are the Basic Elements of a Household Budget? Your household budget doesn’t just affect you, so it can be beneficial to ensure everyone has a say in the budget. Budget together: Complete your household budget worksheet with your partner.Focus on important categories: Before you consider entertainment, you may want to ensure your budget accounts for all the essentials, such as bills, home maintenance, food, and paying off debt.Consider including debt repayment in your household budget. Pay off debt: The sooner you can get out of debt, the easier it will be to save money and work toward our other financial goals.Here are some budgeting tips to consider when using a monthly household budget template: Get Started Today Household Budgeting Tips & FAQs What are Some of the Top Household Budgeting Tips? Select a category for each expense you need to input and add an estimate for how much you spend monthly toward that item. If you want to mimic the excel template within the Mint app instead, you can use the specific home budget categories we used, which are outlined below. There are a wide variety of expenses to choose from. The page will populate with common categories, or you can search for something specific in the bar at the top. Step 3: Add Your ExpensesĬlick “Add an expense”. Once finished, click “Done–now add expenses”. If you have your bank accounts connected to the Mint app, this will auto-populate. Step 2: Add Your IncomeĬlick “Tell us your monthly income” which will take you to a page where you input your monthly income. If this is your first time setting up a budget you’ll see a message to “Create a budget”, click the button to get started. Follow the simple steps below to set up and automate your monthly budget.Ĭlick “Monthly”. You can also use the Mint app instead of the downloadable template to streamline the process. Household Budget Template (.XLSX) Budgeting Using the Mint Mobile App income, an expense breakdown by category, and more. In the “Budget Summary”, you’ll be able to see your expenses vs. The “Budget Summary” tab will automatically populate the data you’ve previously entered. The “Budget Summary” will give you a comprehensive view of your current finances. Step 4:Ĭlick the “Budget Summary” tab when you’ve finished adding your expenses. That way you can switch over to an automated budget easily if you want. Note that the categories included in our household budget worksheet are the same as those used in the Mint app. You’ll find categories including basic home expenses like your mortgage payment, furnishing, and home insurance as well as utilities and child-related expenses. In the “Expense Inputs” tab, fill out the “ESTIMATED” and “ACTUAL” columns just like you did for your income. Next, you’ll need to navigate to the “Expense Inputs” tab that’s located just to the right of “Income Inputs”. Here you’ll be able to add how much you earn from your various income sources including your paycheck, investments, reimbursements, and more. Once you see this page, fill out the “ESTIMATED” and “ACTUAL” columns. You can get started by clicking the “Income Inputs” tab at the bottom of the spreadsheet, which will bring up a list of income categories. To use the template click the “Download” button below. With a home budget worksheet, you can learn the basics of budgeting and start to get your household finances in order. Our household budget template is a simple way to create a budget for your home using a simple Excel spreadsheet. Get Started Today Budgeting Using the Household Budget Template

Household budget template excel free