A simple budget as an example

A simple budget is just a short form that can help you get more control of your spending. If you're new to budgeting or just not a detail person, this is a great place to start.

Instead of being afraid of the budgeting process, you need to simply start small. Then, you can work your way up to a budget where every single penny is accounted for.

This basic budget is just a spreadsheet that helps you total your basic expenses. It has three columns. The first shows what you're budgeting for.

It might not include absolutely everything you spend on in a given month, but it will at least include most of your major expenses.

You can always add to it later if you need to! The second column shows how much you're budgeting for the item, which is how much you would like to spend.

The third column shows how much you actually spent on any given category.

The last column shows the difference between what you budgeted and what you spent.

If this column has a positive number, you're doing well. If it's negative, you need to see where your budget or spending can change next month.

A Simple Monthly Budget

Just click on the image below to download it as a PDF. You can print it out using Adobe Reader (the latest version is recommended) which you should install on your computer in order to open and read the budget. Get Adobe Reader here (it will open a new window so you won't leave this page when you download it).

Prefer Microsoft Excel? Click here for a free personal budget spreadsheet compatible with Microsoft Excel.

Get started with your simple budget

You can use this basic budget spreadsheet to start. If you want more detail, check out our larger budget planner spreadsheet. All you need to do to get started is work your way down the budget column. Write down what you hope to spend for each item on the list, using information about your current spending habits to guide you. Certain areas like mortgage or rent will be really simple to fill in because they are the same from month to month. If you have no idea what an item costs on a monthly basis, skip it. You'll fill it in during the next few steps.

Next, go back and look at the sections you left blank. Maybe you aren't sure what you spend on food shopping or clothing each month. To get an idea, look over your credit card statements and bank account statements to see what you've been spending in particular areas. Then, write down an estimated budget. It doesn't have to be perfect, and if you go a bit over for the first couple of months, you just have to make some adjustments.

This budget will be just a basic guide to get you started, but you'll perfect it as you go. Over the next few months, you should come up with a zero-based budget that works. This basically means that every pound of your income is spent on paper before the month starts. This type of budget keeps your spending in check, but it takes time to get there.

Perfecting it through the months

When you first fill out your simple budget, you're probably going to be off on a lot of your expenses. Sometimes this means you need to be more honest about what you actually spend on food or going out, and sometimes it means you need to cut back your spending. For the first two or three months you're living on a budget, don't be too hard on yourself for getting it wrong. Instead, use your actual spending to either adjust your budget or to learn to cut back on your spending for the next month.

Once you've used your simple budget for a while to determine how much you're spending, you can start to see how you can save more money. When you know where you're money is going you'll feel more in charge. You can use this new tool to pay off debt, save for a rainy day, or simply live on less than you make each month.