Making a budget doesn’t mean restricting yourself for the rest of your life. You may concentrate on making your money work for you by improving your management. That means you may spend more on the things you desire while still keeping in control and meeting your long-term financial objectives.
You can design and manage your financial budget with the correct spreadsheet and budgeting technologies. There’s no need to spend a lot of money on incomprehensible financial technologies. Continue reading to learn about some easy personal budgeting tools that might assist you.
How money management may assist you in achieving your financial objectives
Whether it’s increasing your net worth, paying off your college student debts, or attaining FIRE, you probably have some financial objectives in your life (financial independence, retire early). You can also have shorter-term objectives, like saving for your ideal wedding or purchasing a fancy automobile. Smart money management may assist you in achieving your goals.
Many individuals believe that good financial management entails scrounging, conserving, and never having fun. The fact is that telling oneself “no” isn’t sustainable (or enjoyable). Instead, consider using a budgeting strategy. You divide your expenditures into critical fixed costs, vital investments, savings objectives, and, last but not least, guilt-free spending using this rationale.
You may prioritise your spending in a manner that makes sense for you by focusing on your Money Dials – the things you truly want to spend money on. Fitness, convenience, luxury products, vacation, self-improvement, and social prestige are all possible Money Dials. You’ll be more likely to adhere to your budget in the first place if you make room in your budget for the enjoyable items (without the guilt).
Conscious spending is a fantastic approach to enjoying life while securing your financial future. It does, however, need planning. Start with a foolproof budget, dividing your expenditures into one of four categories: fixed costs, investments, savings, and guilt-free spending. Then you must pick how much money to put into each bucket. Finally, you must adhere to your strategy.
Spreadsheets and tools for budgeting may assist you at every stage. Simple spreadsheets might assist you in creating your mindful spending strategy. Then, for example, you may use a budgeting tool to help you stay to plan by automating your cost monitoring. The goal of these tools is to make money management easier so you can think about it less, not more.
To get you started, here are three budget spreadsheet templates.
It’s easy to be intimidated by the prospect of making a budget spreadsheet. Does this imply that you’ll have to learn complicated financial formulas? Not in the least. It’s important to keep budget templates basic, and there are several user-friendly solutions available to save you time and frustration. The goal is to employ technologies that enable you to spend less time managing your finances. Here are a few of the highlights.
Budget templates for Microsoft Excel
Complex calculations aren’t the only thing you can do with Microsoft Excel. These free budget templates make it simple to keep track of your finances (monthly expenses versus monthly income). Speciality budget templates, such as a personal monthly budget, a college budget, a house building budget, and an event planning budget, are also available. If you have Microsoft Office, you may get these Excel templates for free.
Budget templates for Google Sheets
Another option for budgeting is Google Sheets. You can acquire free budget templates for weekly, monthly, and yearly budgets if you have a Google account. Budget calculators are also available to assist you in sticking to your chosen budgeting guideline, such as the 50/20/30 rule (which dictates that 50 per cent of your budget goes to essential fixed and variable expenses, 20 per cent goes to savings and debts, and 30 per cent goes to the rest).
The budget worksheet of the Federal Trade Commission
Another useful budgeting tool is provided by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The free budget spreadsheet comes as a PDF file and includes a list of suggested income and spending budget categories – all you have to do now is fill in the cash numbers. The final formula (subtracting costs from income) gives you a picture of your financial health and may help you figure out how to manage your money better.
Three budgeting apps and tools to help you manage your money
You may create a mindful spending plan using the resources listed above. Apps and tools for budgeting may then assist you in putting that strategy into effect. Again, basic technologies may help you simplify your efforts and save time and energy.
Here are some of the finest budgeting applications to help you automate money management and get more control over your finances to achieve your financial goals while spending less time worrying about them.
You are using your banking applications to set up automatic payments.
Start by making use of whatever technological advantages your bank provides. Most banks provide applications that connect to your checking account and credit card, enabling you to monitor spending automatically. You may also save money by automating payments by regularly setting aside a certain amount of cash. Automation is a terrific psychological tactic for gaining financial control.
Mint
Mint is worth looking at if you appreciate having all of your financial info in one place. You can keep track of your spending, manage your subscriptions, and establish personalised budgets, among other things. You may link all of your bank accounts, including investments, to get a fast overview of your finances. Mint is a good option if you appreciate having all of your financial planning tools in one location. More information may be found in this article.
A budget is required (YNAB)
YNAB is great for folks who need to pay off debts or save for a specific purpose. With options like budgeting, goal monitoring, and reporting may help you spend more wisely (including visual graphs and charts). Personal help is also available via the app, including free weekly live Q&A sessions.
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Beyond spreadsheets, financial independence may be discovered.
You don’t need to be a personal financial expert or a professional budget planner to make a reasonable home budget. The spreadsheets and tools listed above make it easy to take charge of your money and develop good spending habits. It doesn’t need to be flawless. It’s a tool to suggest you in getting to your financial goals while ensuring you don’t go hungry.
The goal is to make a basic budget that works for you and then automate your money management, from auto-playing bills to setting up automated investments and savings deposits. This will help you worry (and stress) less about money in the long run, allowing you to live the “I Will Teach You to Be Rich” philosophy: “A rich life is lived outside the spreadsheet.”