I Tried DIGITAL BUDGETING for the First Time… | October Budget With Me, by Budget With Daniel on YouTube. 15 min 1 s.
- Video length
- 15 min 1 s
- Time to do it
- 30 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 8
What you need
Steps
Open a blank spreadsheet and add a row or tab for each section: income, bills, cash envelopes, sinking funds and savings. Keeping them separate stops the numbers blurring together.
Enter every income source for the month in the income section, using the amount you actually expect to receive after tax rather than the yearly figure.
List your bills with the name, amount and due date for each one, marking whether it is fixed or changes month to month.
Subtract the total bills from your total income. The figure left is what you have to spread across spending, sinking funds and savings.
Create your cash envelope categories, such as groceries, fuel and fun money, and type an amount next to each one.
Add a sinking fund line for costs that do not come every month, like car repairs or gifts. Divide the yearly cost by 12 to get the monthly amount.
Add a savings line with a set amount to move each month, then check that income minus bills, envelopes, sinking funds and savings equals zero.
Withdraw the cash amounts you set for each envelope and divide it into labelled envelopes so the sheet matches real money in your hands.
Tips and common mistakes
Update the sheet every time you spend so the envelope totals stay accurate.
Leave a small buffer line for surprise costs instead of budgeting every pound or dollar.
If the totals do not balance, cut the fun money category first before touching bills or savings.
Questions
Do I need a paid spreadsheet app?
No. A free app like Google Sheets has everything you need for a monthly budget. You can also use a plain paper sheet with the same sections.
How long should a budget take each month?
The first setup takes about half an hour. After that, copying last month's sheet and adjusting the numbers usually takes 10 to 15 minutes.
What if my income changes every month?
Budget from your lowest expected income and treat anything extra as a bonus. Add the extra to savings or a sinking fund when it arrives.
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.
