How to Build Your Own Budget in Excel | Step-by-Step Tutorial for Beginners, by My Productive Life Co on YouTube. 21 min 24 s.
- Video length
- 21 min 24 s
- Time to do it
- 45 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 10
What you need
Steps
Open a blank workbook and save it with a name like Budget 2026. Add a second sheet tab that you will rename for the month.
Plan the table layout on paper first. Put income rows at the top, expense categories below, and leave columns for planned amount, actual amount and difference.
Type a title in the first row and bold it. Add column headers such as Category, Planned, Actual and Difference, then format them with a fill color.
List your income sources and expense categories in the first column. Group expenses into sections like housing, food, transport and savings.
Add SUM formulas under each column to total planned and actual income and expenses. In the difference column, subtract actual from planned for each row.
Build a cash flow summary that subtracts total expenses from total income. This shows how much money is left at the end of the month.
Select your totals and insert a chart, such as a bar or pie chart, to compare planned against actual spending by category.
Apply colors to headers and totals so the sheet is easy to read. Keep one color for income and another for expenses.
Select the difference column and add conditional formatting so negative values turn red. This flags any category where you went over budget.
Right-click the sheet tab, choose Move or Copy and tick Create a copy to start the next month. Rename the tab with the month and year.
Tips and common mistakes
Enter formulas with cell references instead of typing numbers, so totals update when you change an amount.
Use a consistent category list every month so you can compare months later.
Check that your planned income total matches your actual income total before trusting the difference column.
Keep the annual summary on a separate sheet and link it to each monthly tab.
Questions
Do I need to know Excel formulas to do this?
No. You only need basic SUM and subtraction formulas, and the tutorial shows where to type them. Copy the formula down the column instead of retyping it.
Can I use Google Sheets instead of Excel?
Yes. The layout, SUM formulas and conditional formatting work the same way in Google Sheets, though menu names differ slightly.
How do I add a new month without rebuilding the budget?
Right-click the tab and use Move or Copy with Create a copy ticked. Then clear the actual figures and rename the tab.
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.
