Free household budget template

Free household budget template

How does a household budget work?

A household budget is a plan that helps you manage your home expenses. It involves balancing your cash inflow (income) with cash outflow (bills and expenditure) to make sure you're not spending more than you have. Ideally, as well as not over-spending, the budget will also allow you to save money each month.

Setting out clear monthly expenditure and savings goals helps keep you accountable. More importantly, with budget planning, you're less likely to make impulse buys that cause you to over-spend.

How to use the free household budget template

1. Fill in. Enter all of your income and expenses - being as detailed and accurate as possible.
2. Make changes. With all your current expenses laid out clearly, see where you have room to cut back and save on certain things.
3. Saving goal. With your finalised list of expenses, how much does this allow you to save each month? Use this as a goal going forward.
4. Review. You should be constantly reviewing your spending throughout the month to ensure it's in line with the budget and you're not over-spending. If an expense changes, make sure to update the budget to allow for this.

My biggest budget tip

"Don't forget to pay yourself, and include this in your budget. When I get paid each month, I make sure to pay any bills I need to pay and set some money aside for other upcoming expenses, like rent. But I also consider paying myself as another bill.

As soon as I get paid, I put a certain amount into my savings right away, just like it were any other regular bill. It's listed in my budget like an expense, and I treat it as a non-negotiable. This means I am free to spend the remaining money however I want to throughout the month, because I've already paid myself and ensured my savings balance is growing.

If I instead waited until the end of the month to transfer any remaining money into my savings, I might not have anything left to transfer! This is why I do it first."

Alison Banney

Editorial Manager, Money

5 tips for quick and effective home budgeting

1. Choose a budgeting technique

Here are some popular budgeting techniques to consider:

• Zero-based budget. Using this strategy, there is zero money left unaccounted for each month. You need to track everything you spend, down to the last coffee.
• 50/30/20 budgeting. This method involves allocating 50% of your income to essential spending ("needs"), 30% to non-essential spending ("wants") and 20% to savings.
• 80/20 budgeting. If you feel too restricted by the 50/30/20 home budgeting allocation, you could always switch up the numbers to an allocation you're comfortable with. For instance, the 80% spending and 20% savings model is a popular option to consider for your household budget template.

Expert insight: You can use more than one budget approach

"There are many different budgeting methods available, so it's really up to you on which ones resonate well with you. My personal favourites are the 50/30/20 budget and the Pay Yourself First budget, but I use a bit of a combination of both at the same time.

Don't be afraid to use a mix of different budget methods or create your own. It's important to find a budgeting method that works for you and aligns with your current financial situation."

Queenie Tan

Founder, Invest With Queenie

2. Track your savings

In many cases, people give up on their household budget template after the first few months simply because they don't stick to their budgeting techniques.

One of the most popular ways to solve this is by budgeting through an online app, like the Finder app. You can obtain an overview of your outstanding payments, monthly expenditure and savings at any one time. The Finder app also gives you easy savings tracking, transaction monitoring, credit report viewing and being notified of the latest deals to help you save. That's all for free – and it could give you a world of savings on top of any budgeting technique.

3. Set limits on non-essential expenditure

When implementing a budget technique, remember to be harsh on non-essential expenditure. These are the categories that really end up eating at your savings and preventing you from growing your money at a faster rate. Let's take a look at the different types of non-essential spending that you should watch out for on your household budget template:

• Luxury goods and leisure activities. Budgeting often involves sacrificing high-end expenditure for long-term savings. This means less eating out and fewer expensive trips or indulgent shopping sprees. These activities are all considered non-essentials and should be limited if you're trying to budget better.
• Expensive brands. Even basic necessities can be differentiated into essentials and non-essentials. For instance, you should opt for a cheaper brand when buying groceries instead of splurging on the high-end products. Switching brands and saving a dollar on cheese could actually add up in the long term.
• Expensive stores. Select stores come with higher price tags simply because of their brand name. It might be worth considering getting a product from a cheaper, local store instead of a branded international chain. In plenty of cases, the difference in quality is marginal while the price savings can be significant.

4. Plan ahead

Planning helps prevent impulse buying. That applies to both overall home budgeting and smaller moments in your life like meal planning. Planning with your home budgeting template gives you a better understanding of your monthly savings which would then prompt you to consider your finances before spending. Additionally, smaller steps like meal planning reduce the likelihood of you spending unnecessarily on luxuries like takeaway food.

5. Factor in deals and discounts

Do you have a membership at clothes and makeup stores? Is your supermarket discounting products you normally buy? If so, take advantage of these deals and factor them into your home budgeting template. This will give you a better understanding of your total finances and act as a reminder for you to take advantage of relevant discounts when you're spending.

Written by

Trisha Bhullar

Writer

Trisha Bhullar is Finder’s Singapore-based personal finance writer. After working in digital marketing with multiple fintech startups, she acquired a strong love for everything related to finance. Trisha is currently pursuing higher education in economics and computer science, using her knowledge to provide a millennial perspective on modern finance. See full bio