Monthly Budget Template
Plan a full month with budgeted vs. actual amounts for income and every expense category — differences and your bottom line compute automatically.
Preview
The workbook ships with the example values below plus blank rows — every total is a live formula.
| Category | Budgeted | Actual | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| INCOME | |||
| Salary | $4,200.00 | $4,200.00 | $0.00 |
| Freelance | $600.00 | $450.00 | −$150.00 |
| Total income | $4,800.00 | $4,650.00 | −$150.00 |
| EXPENSES | |||
| Housing | $1,400.00 | $1,400.00 | $0.00 |
| Utilities | $200.00 | $195.00 | −$5.00 |
| Groceries | $550.00 | $610.00 | +$60.00 |
| Transportation | $320.00 | $280.00 | −$40.00 |
| Insurance | $180.00 | $180.00 | $0.00 |
| Healthcare | $80.00 | $60.00 | −$20.00 |
| Dining out | $200.00 | $240.00 | +$40.00 |
| Entertainment | $150.00 | $120.00 | −$30.00 |
| Shopping | $150.00 | $100.00 | −$50.00 |
| Subscriptions | $60.00 | $60.00 | $0.00 |
| Personal care | $50.00 | $45.00 | −$5.00 |
| Other | $90.00 | $120.00 | +$30.00 |
| Total expenses | $3,430.00 | $3,410.00 | −$20.00 |
| Net (actual) | $1,240.00 | ||
How to use it
- Enter your budgeted amounts first — these are your targets for the month.
- As the month progresses, fill in the Actual column with what you really spent or received.
- The Difference column and the summary update automatically via SUM formulas.
- Rename or add rows to match your own categories; keep new rows inside the SUM ranges or extend the ranges.
Related online calculators
Free for personal use. The file contains no macros — just data, formatting, and standard spreadsheet formulas that work in Excel, Google Sheets, and LibreOffice.