How to Make an EASY Monthly Budget Planner in Google Sheets (Free Template!), by Sheet Studio on YouTube. 22 min 7 s.
- Video length
- 22 min 7 s
- Time to do it
- 45 minutes
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Steps
- 10
What you need
Steps
Open Google Sheets, click Blank spreadsheet, and name the file Monthly Budget. Add a tab called Summary and a tab called Budget.
On the Budget tab, type a title row and column headers: Date, Description, Category, Type, Amount, and Done. Leave a few empty rows under the headers.
Build separate blocks for Income, Savings, Expenses, Bills and Debts. Put each block in its own set of columns so you can total them separately.
Add a Total row under each block. In the first cell use =SUM(B5:B30) style formulas, changing the range to match your rows.
Select the Amount column, open Format, then Number, then Currency. Pick your currency. Repeat for every money column so totals show the right symbol.
Create a Category list on a helper sheet. Select the Category column, open Data, then Data validation, choose Dropdown and point it at your list.
Add a Type column dropdown with Income, Expense, Bill, Debt and Saving. Use it later to filter and total each group.
On the Summary tab, link each total with a formula like =Budget!B31. Add a Total Left cell that subtracts total expenses, bills and debts from income.
Select your summary figures, click Insert, then Chart, and choose a bar chart. Add a second pie chart for Total Left.
Insert checkboxes in the Done column with Insert, then Checkbox. Add conditional formatting so ticked rows turn grey with strikethrough text.
Tips and common mistakes
Type dollar signs in formulas only when you want a fixed reference, such as $B$5, so ranges do not shift when copied.
Keep helper lists on a separate sheet and hide it so the budget stays clean and easy to read.
Update the date range in your SUM formulas when you add new rows, or use a full column range like B5:B to avoid missing entries.
Check your Total Left figure against your bank balance at the end of each month to catch missed expenses.
Questions
Do I need the free template to follow along?
No. You can build everything from a blank sheet using the steps above. The template just saves time if you want the layout ready-made.
Can I use this in Excel instead of Google Sheets?
Yes. The SUM formulas, dropdowns and charts work in Excel too, though the menu names for data validation and checkboxes differ slightly.
How do I add a second currency?
Add a currency column with a dropdown of currency codes, then use a formula that picks the symbol based on the selected code. Keep one main currency for your totals.
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.
