Free Spirit Budget
Do you hate budgeting with a household budget template, but need some structure?
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This household budget template is not a spreadsheet. It provides structure for those of us who dislike spreadsheets.
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We know financial Free Spirits hate spreadsheets, Microsoft Excel, and formulas. We created a simple budget template for you to organize your finances quickly.
Create a new budget every time you get paid. Basing your budget on your income, which arrives every 1 or 2 weeks, allows you more control over your expenses.
It is not a weekly budget, a monthly budget or an annual budget.
It is an income budget. It is a budget form to be filled out whenever income is received. Use this free printable budget template every time money comes your way.
How To Use The Household Budget Template For Free Spirits
Download and print this sample budget.
Click on the blue numbers to skip to that section.
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Write the dates for the period of time this budget will cover.
Use this budget only until your next income arrives. Then make a new budget for that income.
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Section Descriptions and Examples:
- Money Available - paychecks, WIC, windfalls
- Giving & Saving - church, charity, homeless, emergency fund, new car, 401K
- Living Expenses - household supplies, groceries, health and medical, children, entertainment
- Bills & Debts - rent, utilities, school loan
- Save for Next Budget - unbudgeted money that will be saved and carried over to use on the next budget
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Fill in the money you get to spend:
List any money left over from the last budget on this new household budget template. Carryover is the amount left unbudgeted from the last budget.
Then list your paychecks and other incomes with their respective amounts.
Add up those amounts and write the total amount of Money Available in the far right space.
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Now give and save some of your money:
Create a running balance by adding and/or subtracting the individual amounts from the total amount. This allows you to easily see how much money is left to budget:
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Fill in the household budget template what you need to live on until the next income.
Subtract each expense to see how much is left available to budget.
Refer to the Budget Planner Checklist for more about these categories.
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Write down your bills and debt payments.
You may want to write the due dates or exactly how you will pay each expense in the blank area to the left of the expense list. Then you can remember if you will write a check or pay a bill online.
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Adjust your expense amounts until you have a ZERO (0) ending balance.
The last expense is called Save for Next Budget. It is the amount that will sit in your checking account - unused - until it is time to budget again. This amount should then be carried over and listed as an Income on the next budget. Use it to zero out your budget.
A ZERO (0) ending balance shows you have budgeted all of your money. You know where each dollar will go, even if it simply remains in the bank.
Our biggest difficulty is reaching ZERO before we reach the end of our budget! However, the point is that we need to account for all of our money, whether we have too little or more than enough.
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Now use your budget!
Write and mail checks, make online payments or account transfers, and get the cash you need from an ATM.
Use the Living Expenses section to create a cash budget on a sticky note to help you divide up your cash, like this:
Take the sticky note with you and withdraw $460. Then divide up your cash accordingly.
Round up to the nearest dollar. Pennies and nickels make a budget far too difficult to manage. Your check register is the place to keep your records to the penny.
Conclusion
My wife and I have been using a similar household budget template for years. It is simple enough to get the budget done quickly and keep the peace.
Do you have questions about this worksheet or budgeting money this way? Please, ask me your questions.
Now, read the 3½ Tips on Budgeting to change your life!
