![]() ![]() Select cell F14 and enter “9200” (Note: For this example we have chosen to use the estimates provided on the University of Tennessee-Knoxville website.) Next, fill in cells F15-F27 in the same manner. Use the AutoFill feature mentioned earlier to fill in cells F7-F10. Select cell B6 and enter “=F6/8” then select cells F5 and F6. To begin, select cell B5 and enter “=F5/8” (Note: For this budget we have assumed that a semester is four months long, thus a two-semester school year would consist of 8 months). The process for filling in the Monthly Budget Income Categories is essentially the same as it was for the Semester Budget Income Categories. This will automatically fill cells D7-D10 with the correct formula, hence saving time. Click on the bottom right corner where the cursor has become a black plus sign (this appears when holding your cursor over the bottom right corner of D6 while both D5 and D6 are selected) and drag it down through cell D10. Select cells F5 and F6 and hold the cursor over the bottom left corner of cell F6 until the cursor becomes a black plus sign, as shown in the figure below. After this, select cell D6 and enter “=F6/2” and hit the enter key. Next, select cell D5 and enter “=F5/2” this will give us the appropriate amount for the semester since, in this case, a school year consists of two semesters. You will obviously choose numbers that reflect your personal income categories.) For this example we will enter the following numbers into the corresponding cells: o “4800” in F5 o “6000” in F6 o “8000” in F7 o “8000” in F8 o “2000” in F9 o “360” in F10 II. (Note: the numbers used in this budget are based on amounts determined to be average by the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Begin by selecting cell F5 and enter the amount of income received from jobs. If your car registration is due in January, for example, then your car rego category would only have a value under January, the rest of the year would be 0.I. I’ve typed in some data to show you what it will look like, but you wouldn’t just type the same thing for each month. You will notice that the formulas change automatically as you add your data (tip: use the fill handle to copy values across your budget). If there are months where the income or expenses are zero, then type 0 – this will ensure that the average calculates properly. ![]() If you’ve been tracking your expenses, then use the information to fill in your budget. Type in expected income and expenses for each month. So you want to make sure there are no calculation errors in your spreadsheet.ĭo this by entering easy data like $10 into various parts of your spreadsheet and making sure all the formulas calculate correctly. The budget decisions you make are only as good as the data you’re relying on. Save As again to create a budget just for this year. Save As now and you will have a template that can be reused every year. Tip: if you type January and click on the small black box (fill handle) in the bottom right-hand corner of cell B2 and drag it across, it will fill in the rest of the months for you without you having to type them. Next, type the months along the next row, staring at B2. Start a new document and give it a heading like Budget. Make sure to customise the spreadsheet expense and income categories to your personal circumstances. Steps Building A Basic Home Budget Spreadsheetīelow are the steps, accompanied with diagrams, to creating a basic home budget. You should always consult a qualified financial expert when making money decisions to tailor plans to suit your circumstances. ![]() In this blog, I share my savings and budget planning and what works for us. If you don’t have Excel, then the free alternatives ( Open Office or Google spreadsheets) are pretty similar and this tutorial should still be helpful the functions will just be in different menus.ĭisclaimer: This is general information only. The tutorial is based on the latest version of Excel, so if you’re using the older version of Excel, you will find the same functions in the toolbar and menu bar. ![]() This tutorial starts from the very beginning for those who have never met a spreadsheet before. When you create your own budget yourself, you can customise it to meet your own needs and circumstances exactly. I have been using it now for over a decade. Excel is an awesome program for personal budgeting. ![]()
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