50/30/20 Budget in Excel: Step by Step Tutorial to Make a Budget Spreadsheet in Excel, by Mr. Jamie Griffin on YouTube. 21 min 37 s.
- Video length
- 21 min 37 s
- Time to do it
- 30 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 10
What you need
Steps
Open a blank Excel workbook and save it with a clear name like Budget 2025. In cell A1 type Monthly Income and put your take-home pay in B1.
Add a Needs section below. List fixed essentials such as rent or mortgage, utilities, groceries, insurance and transport, one per row in column A.
In the cell next to your income, enter a formula like =B1*0.5 to get the 50 percent needs target. Put the same target beside the Needs heading.
Add a Wants section and list non-essentials such as dining out, streaming, hobbies and travel. Enter =B1*0.3 in the wants target cell.
Add a Savings and Debt section for savings, investments and extra debt payments. Enter =B1*0.2 in the savings target cell.
Under each section, use =SUM() over the amount column to total needs, wants and savings. Add a Total Expenses row that sums those three totals.
Create a Net Income row with a formula that subtracts total expenses from income, such as =B1-B20. A positive number means you are within budget.
Click the small square at the corner of a formula cell and drag it down or across to copy the formula to the other rows instead of retyping it.
Add a Total Per Month row that sums each category column so you can compare planned amounts with actual spending.
Format the money cells as currency, bold the headings and add fills to separate the three sections. Save the file.
Tips and common mistakes
Use your take-home pay after tax, not your gross salary, or every percentage will be too high.
If needs go over 50 percent, adjust wants first before cutting savings.
Lock the income cell with $B$1 in formulas so copying them down keeps the reference fixed.
Update the actual amounts each month instead of building a new sheet.
Questions
Do I need a template to do this?
No. You can build the whole sheet from a blank workbook with a few SUM and percentage formulas. A template only saves typing.
What counts as a need versus a want?
Needs are bills you must pay to live and work, like housing, food, insurance and transport. Wants are optional spending like subscriptions, eating out and hobbies.
Why does my net income not match my bank balance?
The sheet shows planned amounts, not cleared transactions. Compare it with your statement and update the actual figures to find the gap.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
