HOW TO: THE EASIEST AND SIMPLEST WAY TO CREATE A MONTHLY BUDGET! 6-MINUTES PROCESS, by Shay Budgets on YouTube. 6 min 25 s.
- Video length
- 6 min 25 s
- Time to do it
- 30 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 9
What you need
Steps
Open a new spreadsheet and name it with the month and year, for example Budget January. Add a title row at the top so you know what the sheet is for.
In column A, list every income source for the month, such as salary, side work and any benefits. Put the amounts in column B and total them at the bottom.
Under the income, add a section for fixed bills: rent or mortgage, utilities, phone, insurance, loan payments and subscriptions. Enter the amount due for each.
Add a section for variable spending: groceries, fuel, eating out, clothes and fun money. Give each one a planned amount based on what you actually spent last month.
Add a savings and debt section. Include a line for savings and any extra payment toward debt, even if it is small.
Total all the expense lines with a SUM formula. Compare that total to your income total so the two numbers match, which is the zero based idea.
Adjust the planned amounts until income minus expenses equals zero. Trim fun money or eating out first if you are over.
Add a column for actual spending next to each planned amount. Update it through the month as you pay bills and buy things.
At month end, compare planned versus actual for each line. Copy the sheet for the next month and carry over the numbers that worked.
Tips and common mistakes
Base your planned amounts on real past spending, not on what you wish you spent.
Leave a small buffer line for surprise costs so one odd bill does not break the whole budget.
Update the actual column at least once a week so you catch overspending early.
Questions
Do I need special budget software?
No. A free spreadsheet like Google Sheets or Excel works fine. The key is listing every income and expense and making the totals match.
What does zero based budget mean?
It means every pound or dollar of income is given a job, so income minus planned spending equals zero. Nothing is left unassigned.
How often should I update the budget?
Set it up once a month and update the actual spending weekly. At month end, review what you spent and adjust the next month.
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.
