How to calculate the family budget. Proper distribution of the family budget for the month

Many mistakenly believe that budget planning is done only by those who are very limited in funds. No one wants to be known as such a person in the eyes of others. This is a false stereotype that needs to be eliminated as soon as possible. Such an attitude to one's own money leads to the fact that they will always be missed.

An ordinary person spends a fifth of his income on things he does not need. Wouldn't it be better to refuse them and direct this money to new beautiful clothes or save it for a vacation? It's all about prioritization. This is the first step towards financial freedom.

Cost accounting

Cost accounting is boring and routine work, but it must be done. You should not go to extremes and count how many potatoes you ate in a month, otherwise you will soon get tired of keeping records and you will return to your old life. Everything is good in moderation. Just create a spreadsheet in Excel where you will record your main income and expenses. You need to do this regularly.

Payday

You just got paid. What will you do first? If you are determined to plan your budget, you should immediately set aside some amount. This will be your personal capital, which will not only help you in an unforeseen situation, but also increase your budget for the next month. Some save money at the end of the month, but this method is too unreliable. They may simply not be left.

Reducing Major Expenses

It makes sense to pay attention to large expenses and, if possible, reduce them. Only they significantly affect the budget, while small ones almost do not matter. You can’t save much on refusing lunches, and stomach problems will definitely appear because of this. As a result, you will spend more on a doctor.

50, 30 and 20

Bestselling budgeting authors recommend spending 50% of your income on essentials: groceries, transportation, utilities, and so on. 30% should be spent on satisfying your desires, buying fashionable clothes, jewelry, electronics. 20% of the salary must be put into your own savings. This simple technique will allow you to enjoy your life without much effort.

Today there are many ways to plan your budget. You need to find the one that's right for you. Do not demand immediate results from yourself and allow yourself to break down sometimes. There is nothing special about this, it is quite difficult for a person to acquire good habits. For greater effectiveness, ask your relatives for help.

Whether you manage your company finances or your household finances, creating a budget is an important first step. A budget is essential to keep track of current spending, determine where spending can be cut, and make decisions about where to spend money.

While creating a budget can seem like a daunting process, using a budget template can help make the process a little less intimidating. How to choose a template suitable for your purposes from a huge number of existing ones? We've taken a look at the best Excel templates and covered them in this article so you can pick the ones that work best for you. In addition, we provide a detailed description of how to use the monthly personal budget template in Excel and Smartsheet.

  1. Go to the website and sign in to your account (or use the free 30-day trial).
  2. Go to the "Home" tab, click "Create" and select the "View Templates" option.
  3. Enter the word "Budget" in the "Search Templates" field and click on the magnifying glass icon.
  4. A list of templates will be displayed. For our example, we will use the Monthly Family Budget Planning template. Click on the blue "Use Template" button in the top right corner.
  5. Name your template, choose where to save it, and click OK.

2. Enter details for your budget

A pre-formatted template will open containing content for the sample, as well as pre-made sections, categories, and subcategories. In Smartsheet, you can easily add or remove rows based on your budget data.

Simply right-click on a row and select "Insert Above" or "Insert Below" to add a row, or "Delete" to remove a row.

  1. Update the section and subsection titles in the main column to match your data.

*Note that the "Savings" section of this template is included in the "Expenses" section. You can move this section to a more suitable place for you by selecting the desired lines, right-clicking on them and choosing "Cut". Then right-click on the line where you want to paste the selected lines and click Paste.

  1. Enter your income, savings, and expenses for the relevant categories of your budget in the "Monthly budget" column. Please note that the hierarchy has already been set up for you, and the formulas will automatically calculate the totals for the categories based on the data specified in the subsections.
  2. On the left side of each row, you can attach files directly to budget items (ideal for attaching bank statements, tax documents, etc.).
  3. Add important details in the Comments column, such as account details or links to specific accounts.

3. Update your actual monthly budget

  1. Enter the actual amounts in rubles for each of the budget elements during the corresponding month. You can customize how you receive reminders by opening the "Alerts" tab at the bottom of the page and selecting "New Reminder". Additional information .
  1. You can share your budget with interested parties. This will not only help keep others informed about the state of the budget, but will also increase accountability on your part. To share, click the Sharing tab at the bottom of the page. Add the email addresses of the users you want to share with, add a message, and click the blue "Share Table" button in the bottom right corner of the dialog box.

Shopaholism or lack of assembly?


Don't know how to budget properly? There are several reasons for this. There are many among us who cannot live a day without going shopping. And there is such a temptation! Before going to the boutique, you did not even know that you needed some kind of blouses and trousers, you could easily manage without them. But they saw it and fell in love. We get cash right now! And not enough, pay off with a credit card, not the first time.


The shopaholics' apartment is like a museum. A pile of dishes that are never used, mountains of cosmetics that expire before they decide to use them for their intended purpose, figurines, animal figurines, plush toys - the list is endless. Shopaholics agitatedly buy everything that comes to hand, for them things have no practical significance. Bought - happy. I didn’t buy it - I borrowed money and again ran to the shops.


Tell yourself stop. Right today and right now. Look around - why do you need all this? For the sake of momentary joy from a dubious purchase? Imagine that by giving up senseless spending, you can save up for a vacation in a couple of months. But the rest will bring you much more positive emotions than the hundredth lipstick.


But there are people who do not suffer from shopaholism, but still do not have enough money. Spend only on the essentials! Believe me, this is far from true. Start writing down all your expenses and literally in a week you will realize with amazement that you have acquired nonsense, and you have forgotten about utility bills ... Inconsistency and negligence are the main enemies of the family budget.


The economy must be economical


So you've made up your mind to save money. The main thing here is not to overdo it - eat exclusively oatmeal and walk in the winter and summer in the same trousers, collecting a pretty penny in a tight stocking - a clear bust.


WITH ? We learn a new profession and start doing home accounting. Get a notebook where you will enter data daily. In a separate column, enter the income of all family members - salary, benefits, scholarships, dividends. Next, immediately plan out the mandatory expenses that you can’t do without. For example, utility bills, travel expenses, kindergarten or school fees, loan payments.


The rest is daily expenses, food, household needs. And already the amount that remains at the very end will go to unforeseen expenses - medicines, urgent repairs; for entertainment, and in the piggy bank, for example. By the way, about unforeseen expenses. Well, if you have a nest egg - contingencies are called that because you don’t plan them, but they come. Try putting 10% off each paycheck into a separate account. For the budget is not essential, but obvious.


There is another option for the forgetful - special budget planners, who themselves will take into account and calculate everything. There are a lot of such programs on the Internet, they can be downloaded to your computer or filled out after registering on the site. For owners of iPhones and smartphones, there are convenient mobile versions of home accounting.


How to save: little tricks


Install meters for water, gas - utility bills will decrease. Banal, but true advice - do not forget to turn off the light, disconnect from the charging network from mobile phones - this way you will save on electricity. Pay attention to the tariff plan of your mobile operator - maybe you should change it to a more profitable one?


Second hand and flea markets - yes, yes, and there is nothing shameful in this. Sometimes there you can find absolutely luxurious things at a ridiculous price. If you are planning to buy an item that you need for a short time, maybe look at a free classifieds site and buy it by hand? For example, a walker or a high chair for feeding a child. This will significantly save the family budget.


Lunch break at work - colleagues go to a cafe, and out of habit you go with them. And if you bring lunch from home, you can use the savings to dine at a restaurant every week.


Of course, the above recommendations will not allow you to get rich drastically, but by following them, you can do much more for the same. And in conclusion, I want to note that increasing income often helps to reduce costs! Invest in yourself, in your education, study - and you will certainly succeed.

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Maintaining a family budget often runs into difficulties. The hardest part is often not organizing all the family members at all, but finding an easy and stress-free way to do housekeeping.

You will need

  • Personal computer (laptop, tablet), MS Excel program, pen, notepad, calculator.

Instruction

One of the easiest ways to keep a family budget is to simply record all expenses in a notebook. It is necessary to make a habit of collecting in a certain place all the checks accumulated during the day and counting expenses. Divide the notebook into sections: food, transportation, rent or utility bills, clothing, household items, entertainment, and so on (you can choose just a few of the areas that spend the most money).

A more advanced way, with the ability to automatically calculate expenses, is to create a document in Microsoft Excel. There you can create a table with the name of expenses, as well as write down automatic summation formulas in the cells. So you will see the total amount at once, without counting with a calculator. For convenience, you can create such a table in the Google Docs service, and then each of the family members will be able to add their expenses from remote access.

On the internet at the moment a large number of programs that allow you to keep home accounting completely automatically, not only taking into account expenses, but also taking into account incoming funds. Such programs can calculate future expenses, identify your “weak points”, suggest what and where you can save. As a rule, such programs are very inexpensive, or they are shareware (the test version is given for 30 days). The most common programs include Home Bookkeeping, Home Finance, Family 10, Family Budget, and so on. Almost all of them are available as apps for Android and iOS and can even be installed on your phone.

Budget planning is already a much more complex operation. The easiest way is to budget for the next month. It is necessary to clearly divide the costs into mandatory and optional. In the event that mandatory expenses exceed the usual rate, loopholes can be identified in the column of optional expenses that will help the budget stay afloat. An even higher stage is the planning of expenses and income for the next year. On the one hand, it seems quite complicated, but on the other hand, it will allow you to immediately draw up a list of necessary actions to keep your budget in balance.

note

Do not be lazy to collect reports on small expenses - they, as a rule, make up the lion's share of daily expenses.

Helpful advice

Find a place for a small box where you can put checks for the reporting period.

Sources:

  • Articles and useful links on managing a family budget in 2019

Many families, especially young ones, live paycheck to paycheck, and any unexpected expense turns into serious stress. In fact, you just need to learn how to manage your family budget so that there is enough money for everything you need and remains for unforeseen expenses.

Control and analyze

Keep a family budget to see and understand where the money goes. Be sure to keep track of your income and expenses. If you don't know how much money you received last month, how can you plan your expenses? Planning must be sure to take into account all the needs of the family. This does not mean at all that it is necessary to strictly record each kilogram of potatoes, it is enough to record the amounts spent on individual items. At the end of the month, carefully analyze how much money was spent. It is convenient to consider the salary day as the beginning and end of the financial month.

Plan

Having the data obtained as a result of the financial analysis of expenses for the previous month, you can try to plan for the next month by distributing expenses into separate envelopes. It is the envelope system that is the most convenient in budget planning. On payday, you need to put the money into different envelopes and take it for one purpose or another within a month.

Save

Don't be dismissive of savings. It is very useful to change your own attitude towards money, do not scatter it right and left. There are many ways to save money without depriving the whole family of vacations or other pleasant things. Try not to spend a penny on your payday, the fact is that the euphoria caused by a large amount of money in your hands often leads to unplanned spending, and such purchases are most likely useless.

Save up

If you want to accumulate something, be sure to find a goal. You can’t save money for the sake of money itself, it’s psychologically easier to save for something specific and important to you. It could be a new car, a renovation, a summer trip, or even a new apartment. In other words, something for which you will have to regularly set aside some amounts from your salary.

Related videos

Financial issues are often the cause of quarrels in families, especially in young ones. In order not to once again sort things out at the expense of money, it is important to learn how to draw up and maintain a family budget. Then you can correctly calculate the required amount of funds and learn how to save them.

Instruction

Make a table of your total income and expenses for the month. It will be easier to do this if you save all receipts. At the same time, do not forget to include small expenses there: travel by public transport, snacks in a cafe, buying bread, cigarettes or chewing gum in a nearby store. Thanks to this, you will not only be able to calculate your budget for the next month, but also understand what you can save on.

Make a list of expenses for the next month, excluding from it those items that you can refuse. And then strictly adhere to it, not giving yourself concessions in the form of buying another blouse at a big discount. When budgeting, it is also important to set aside 10-20% of income for contingencies and about 10% for savings.

Refuse snacks in a cafe, because eating at home will be much more economical. And even more so, you should not pamper yourself with dinners in expensive restaurants with a big cheat.

Try to buy food and cleaning products in bulk. Thus, it is possible to stock up on potatoes, onions, canned food, fish and meat for a long time at low prices. Put the difference in a savings box. And toilet paper, powders, soap and toothpaste can be stored for a very long time. Buy the rest of the products at the market, where prices are often much lower than in supermarkets and nearby small shops.

Instruction

Get in the habit of keeping track of all your expenses. At this stage, you analyze your spending, compare it with income and draw conclusions.

Find a savings reserve. Any family budget spent in three areas:
- Compulsory payments (taxes, utility bills, education)
- Current expenses (food, transport, clothing, mobile communications)
- Free money (entertainment, recreation, gifts,)
You can cut costs for any of these items. For example, by insulating an apartment, you can save on mandatory expenses. You can spend less on food if you do not go to the supermarket on an empty stomach and have groceries that you need to buy with you.

Do not carry a lot of money in your wallet, otherwise you will be tempted to buy everything. On the day of receiving a salary, it is especially common for a person to spend a lot. Try to determine for yourself the amount that should be spent monthly on daily needs: lunch, travel, various little things. Divide it by the number of days. It turns out that you must meet in a day. And if one day you overused it, then the next day you will have to do something.

Make two lists, in the first one, add things that you are not going to refuse (balanced nutrition, gifts for relatives), and in the second, what you can save on (use less taxi, spend less on cosmetics).

Get a separate wallet for change. Pour small coins there without counting. Someday this "bank" will help you out a lot.

Put unexpectedly formed "extra" money in a bank or mutual fund. Let them work for you, after a while you will feel the effect of such an investment. No wonder: not the one who has a lot of money is rich, but the one who has enough of it. Treat money with attention, and you will miss.

Related videos

plan out budget Two things will help: scrupulous accounting of finances and strict compliance of expenses with the approved plan. To the compilation and execution of the family budget and you can approach with all the principles of state control of finances. The only difference is that you will receive income, make expenses, and control expenses on your own, performing the corresponding roles of the earner of funds, their manager and controller in one person.

Instruction

The very first habit that you have to get rid of in order for planning to make further sense is the habit of uncontrollably and wasting money. Try to save money. Collect receipts for all purchases made during the month, including food, travel and utility bills, and remember other expenses that were made. At the end of the month, analyze the amounts received. They will come in handy later on.

Define strategic and priority goals: large investments, for example, in construction and renovation or houses, buying a car, household appliances, etc. Further planning budget and will depend on them, as well as on the level of total family income, since it is obvious that the same goals related to money accumulation, at different income levels, will take different times.

The following approach is quite widespread, allowing you to correctly plan budget. All expenses are divided into three groups:
Current expenses intended for payment, food, etc.
Accumulations that create the basis for;
The reserve part, acting as a kind of guarantor and financial cushion for unforeseen cases.
Assign each of them a certain percentage of their monthly income. It is difficult to give recommendations on specific percentages, since they can be different for everyone. The distribution depends on income, price level, priority of goals set and may be revised from time to time.

Related article

There are many effective methods for managing a family budget. Not everyone finds it easy to follow many rules. However, there are methods that even our grandmothers know.

Without planning, everything happens spontaneously with money, but you can learn to manage this element as well.

We are still somehow getting used to regular expenses - they are in the budget every month for about the same amount. We know that this money needs to be allocated, period (mortgage, food, travel, communications, etc.).

But with irregular expenses that do not happen every month, everything is usually more dramatic. Every time the purchase of New Year's gifts, updating the wardrobe or tires on a car is the question "Where to find funds"?

The saddest thing is that while we are looking for money for one thing or another, big and cherished dreams remain dreams. Consequently, with global and important goals - a complete fiasco.

Something needs to be done about this. Just “earning more” does not solve the problem - I have seen this from the experience of thousands of my clients. Only one thing can help here - learn how to manage money.

Namely:

1. Plan your finances.
2. Follow the plans.

This is the only way to direct money to really important things, not allowing them to flow away to nonsense, to the mortal.

What can be done to change the situation right now?

I often hear from people that learning to plan money and follow plans is their cherished dream :) And the real problem is how to make this dream come true. Futile attempts...

The magic of money management lies in the fact that big results are obtained from daily small actions, that is, from lifestyle, from habits.

Habits are a mirror in which you can see the future. Right here and now you can change your habits, and therefore change the future.

Three simple habits will help you build money management into your daily process:

1. Plan a budget for the month ahead.

2. Set aside money regularly.

3. Keep track of expenses.

Start slowly, small. The main thing is regularity.

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Monthly budgeting technology

First you need to create an average budget.

This is a budget in which all items are averaged over the year. Use Excel. The first required tab is "Budget Planning".

Budgeting is, in fact, a very simple thing. List income in one table and expenses in another. Below you see the result - the difference between income and expenses = investment potential = your profit or loss.

Start by filling out the income table. On the lines, write down the names of all monthly incomes and put the amount per month for each. Write down irregular income below (try not to forget anything) - bonuses, tax refunds, dividends, interest on deposits.

Only the money that you can actually spend immediately can be attributed to income. If your pension capital has increased, this does not need to be recorded in income when planning the budget. Only the money that is available for use.

Record the regular income that you receive each month in the amount of MONTHLY income (in the column "amount per month"). If you have an unstable income, and there is a radical difference from month to month, you can plan too, moreover, you need planning more than anyone else. Estimate how much you earn on average per year. Accounting accuracy is not needed here, here you need to find benchmarks, and for this it is enough to determine the expected income as close to reality as possible.

Irregular income must be recorded in the amount of ANNUAL income (of course, in the “amount per year” column).

By filling out this part of the table, you will see how much you earn on average per month and per year. Maybe this will give you some serious thought :)
Part of the table "Expenses" is filled in automatically when you work with the sections of the adjacent "Expense Planning" tab. Go to it and fill in everything in order. Write down all expenses IN AVERAGE FOR THE YEAR.

In the monthly write down only those items on which you spend every month plus / minus the same amount - utilities, food, cafes, transport, mortgages. Put the amount of expenses for the month in the appropriate column.

And you can write down all irregular items in the block of annual expenses. You need to write them down in total (how much you spend per year) in the third, last. column.

The division into "monthly" (regular) and "annual" (irregular) can be done at your discretion, as you prefer to perceive them.

For example, you usually buy some clothes every month and it's easier for you to think of it as a regular expense - then write it down as a monthly expense. If you update your wardrobe once or twice a year, it will be more convenient for you to write them down in annuals. This breakdown will not affect the essence of the matter, so do not suffer much.

When you fill in the expenses, you can look at the next tab, where your budget is formed, and evaluate - how much is left of the income?

When you complete ALL, look at the consolidated budget - what conclusions can be drawn?

Ideally, if at least 20% of your income remains unspent, it is these funds that you can set aside for future goals. If you manage to draw up your budget with such a profit, this is the confidence that in the future you will be very rich, all material goals will be achieved, and you will be a completely independent person with unbreakable financial stability.

Based on this “average” budget, you will be able to do two of the most important things for financial prosperity: create a personal financial plan and plan a monthly budget.

Personal financial plan

A personal financial plan is long-term planning that will show exactly how you can achieve global goals.

Many people say that such a plan is "pitchfork in the water." Certainly!

A plan is not a rigid concept that is 100% obligatory for execution. This is a landmark that shows where you are and what the perspective is. It is in your power to change the current conditions, and looking at the plan you will see how this affects the future. And seeing the future is a gigantic advantage.

You can make such a plan with a specialist. Although these calculations are not difficult, it is difficult for beginners to compile it without practice and skills.

I dream that financial planning is taught in school. Then in our country the majority of people would be wealthy and independent!

The second thing you can do with an average budget is to plan budget for next month.

You can do this in the "current accounting" tab in the green line at the bottom of the table.

When you have an “average” budget for the year, it will take a maximum of half an hour once a month to plan a budget for a month! Such a small effort can decisively change a person's entire life.

It is better to plan expenses for a month like this: first you look at the "average" budget, which reflects all the major goals - vacation, car, purchase of a computer or a course of study. You plan how much money (or how many percent of income) you will send there.

Write these amounts in expenses - in the green line in the columns that you will name these goals.

Then, when all the cherished dreams are planned, put mandatory expenses and payments in the budget - food, transport, utilities.

And in the third place, you decide how much money to allocate for entertainment and other expenses.

Such monthly work is VERY sobering, each amount of money begins to be perceived so adequately that mistakes and extra expenses evaporate by themselves.

Having made a plan for the month, you now know exactly where and how much money you can spend, and how much you can set aside for goals.

However, the habit of planning will not work on its own. Be sure to add the habit of saving money.

In order to have such a skill at all, you need to set up a system - HOW and WHERE will you make your regular deductions? Need to make a decision on how to deal daily with the money needed for annual and long-term goals?

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Laying - often associated with eggs :) But the real meaning of this word in this case is literally "laying somewhere else." If you think that you have a balance of about 100 thousand rubles on your card for several months. - this is the accumulation, it is not.

Such balances on the card are easily wasted, most often unnoticed by the owner.

Postpone - it means to physically separate from the total mass of money. Once you start using this trick, you will suddenly feel more wealthy, because you will have stocks and reserves for all purposes, you will always have money for everything. You won't waste them by accident.

How to do it? You can do it in different ways, depending on the scale of the goal.

1. Small and "current" expenses

These are small-scale and dateless purchases that occur from time to time throughout the year: gifts, clothing, charity, cosmetics, and the like.

They do not require bank deposits and the creation of a multi-currency basket. An envelope in a nightstand is quite suitable.

For each goal you want to separate from the bulk of your expenses, have an envelope or box. It's better if you arrange it nicely. The envelope or box must be of very high quality, solid (for centuries) and beautiful. It is better to make an inscription and pictures on them that reflect the essence of this stash.

Thus, each time you receive income, it is better to immediately set aside the planned amount in such an envelope.

For example, for a year you spend 30,000 rubles on gifts, that is, an average of 2,500 rubles. per month.

Therefore, you are planning 2,500 rubles a month, even if you don’t need to buy gifts this month. 2.500 rub. you save in a special envelope (or piggy bank). Then, when you need to buy gifts, you take this stash and spend the required amount from it. Very comfortably.

It is very convenient to make an envelope "People". This will be your gift to the world - gifts, charity, helping others...

2. Average goals with a specific date

These are your specific goals for the year - traveling, buying a new computer, furniture.

For such purposes, it is better to open a deposit in the same bank where you have a bank card. I hope your bank card is issued by a reliable bank?

As a bank card that you regularly use, it is better to use cards from reliable banks. If your bank goes bankrupt, you, of course, will not lose your funds, since they are insured by the state within the amount of 1.4 million rubles. If bankruptcy does occur, money will not be available to you for some time. Why make life difficult for yourself?

Today, almost all banks offer their customers such a super-convenient function as a "piggy bank", "save for a goal" and so on. The bottom line is that you can open a bank deposit directly in your personal account on the site, remotely. You do not need to go to the bank, look for a specialist, stand in line at the cashier and so on.

You can choose the deposit that suits you via the Internet. Make it exactly by the date of the goal. Usually the offers in this system are not the most profitable, but if you are planning a small goal, for the next few months, this is not important.

So, you open a deposit, as soon as you receive income, transfer the obviously planned amount there. Elementary.

By the way, these contributions can also be given their own names: for example, “On Tenerife”, or “To a new computer”, “To a course of study”. Each time replenishing such a deposit, you will watch with great pleasure how the amount increases, you will directly physically feel how the goal is getting closer.

By the way, it has been noticed: when you take such definite steps towards your dreams, they begin to come to life and rapidly come true. After all, you have already created an account with the name of a dream, some funds already lie on it. And money, as you know, is attracted to money.

The picture shows an example of deposits opened remotely and replenished from a Sberbank card.

The "piggy bank" in this is a function that you can set up and replenish deposits automatically. It is possible to replenish a certain amount per month, a percentage of each income or expense (except for transfers), etc.

If you set it up, everything happens automatically, by itself.

Do not forget to make such piggy bank accounts as “taxes”, “rubber, maintenance, OSAGO”, “VHI and NSZH” (this is health and life insurance, it is better to have such expenses in your budget).

3. Big goals

Here we have goals with a implementation period of several years. It can be: a new car, an apartment, a house, a new business, future investments.

Future investments are your first step towards such long-term goals as children's education, personal retirement capital, a vacation home and the like.

In order to successfully achieve these goals, over time you will need to learn how to invest your savings in profitable instruments - real estate, the stock market, precious metals and business. The key word here is WITH TIME.

Before you start investing, you need to have at least some capital. For this capital to appear, it is enough to create conditions for you to calmly accumulate it.