In good times and bad, it is very important for families to get the most out of every dollar. As stretching the family budget becomes an increasing concern for many families, it may be time to introduce some technology into the picture to help prioritize finances better. There are many freely available budgeting spreadsheets that can be used for everything from groceries and bills to vacations. In order to choose the best spreadsheet for your needs and to get the most use out of it, here are some key things that you should keep in mind.
1. The more specific the budgeting spreadsheet the better
If you are trying to budget your expenses for a vacation or budget your money to save up for a big expense, then you do not want to use some generic budgeting spreadsheet. For example, there are very useful and freely available budgeting spreadsheets for planning weddings, where expenses can quickly get out of hand if a tight rein is not kept on them. If you are willing to search for it, you can find a FREE spreadsheet that covers almost any kind of budgeting plans. If you are of the technically savvy variety, you can even design your own budget spreadsheet for many situations. For those working with more generic budget spreadsheets, there are spreadsheets that allow you to track daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly expenses all within the same spreadsheet. These can be quite useful in planning for the future.
2. Learn how to use the spreadsheet’s bells and whistles
If you decide to go big and use full-fledged personal budgeting software, there will likely be a number of special features that can be very useful if you know how to use it correctly. Some budgeting software works online so that you can access it from anywhere, and store all your financial information in one spot. Others offer the ability to import information from your bank or credit union account, thus saving lots of time and aggravation. Of course, there are all the other features of spreadsheets, such as the ability to display info as graphs and charts, special functions for adding numbers and the ability to personalize the look which makes them so useful.
3. Include the right information in the spreadsheet
There are certain budgets that require very specific information in order to make the spreadsheet work. For example, if you are trying to track your daily expenses in order to find out where there is room to make cuts, then you will need to include every daily expense. On the other hand, if you are planning a budget for a vacation, where you have a certain amount of money already set aside for it, you can be a bit more flexible with the amount of money that you set aside for each category. In fact, especially with regard to vacation planning, it is a good idea to set aside some funds as miscellaneous. The learning curve is typically not too steep for most of the free budgeting software and budgeting spreadsheets that are available, so by all means experiment with the software and spreadsheets to see what you can unlock.
4. Use future projections created by the software to plan for the future
Once you have the hang of particular budgeting software, you will likely find that it has some features which project both future expenses as well as future savings based on the information that you input. If you are trying to save to make a big purchase, this information can be useful. For those trying to get out of debt, this kind of feature becomes invaluable. There are few things as satisfying as coming up with a plan to get yourself out of debt within a reasonable amount of time. Print out the plan to get out of debt and post it around the house to help you remember what you are trying to do.
Many people have come to realize how much debt they allowed themselves to get into and how important it is to handle their finances in a more fiscally responsible manner. If this is the situation that you find yourself in, then now is by all means the time to change your financial lifestyle and introduce budgeting spreadsheets into your life.
Creating a budgeting spreadsheet
For budgeting spreadsheet customized exactly how you would like it, you can simply make your own. A general monthly format is to start with 12 columns on the top for the months and rows on the side for each expense. Once you learn the basics of spreadsheets, it becomes relatively easy to customize them to whatever budgeting style you have in mind.
Free budgeting spreadsheets
With so many free and inexpensive budgeting spreadsheets out there, many of them already designed for a particular type of budget, it may be better to go with something that has been more carefully and expertly designed. Some of the best ones can be found below.
Vertex42
This website has a number of spreadsheets, many designed for specific purposes, free to download. These are designed to work with Excel and are often compatible with Google Docs and other systems as well. Some of the spreadsheets offered include family and personal budget planners, worksheets for kids and those for Christmas, weddings and other special occasions. In addition to budgeting spreadsheets, there are different calculators, calendars and other tools that can be used.
Spreadsheet123
Very similar to Vertex42, Spreadsheet123 also offers a number of specialized spreadsheets designed for weddings, retirement or a more general personal budget. In addition to Excel, these spreadsheets should work with Google Docs and OpenOffice.
PearBudget Spreadsheet
PearBudget has an extremely popular free budgeting spreadsheet they claim has been downloaded over 100,000 times. They now offer paid budgeting software, but their spreadsheet still can be had for free. Features include an analysis tab for monthly spending and the ability to easily see how much your budget and actual spending differed.
Google Docs/Template Gallery
Google Docs has a lot of free templates available, including some that make good budgeting tools (in fact, there are too many, and it can be a mess to search through them). Go to the above and look around. Some templates to search for include Best Personal Budget Planner and Simple Budget Planner.
