Before you start
- Your download is a zip with two files. Double-click it to open it. Start with the one marked with examples to see how everything works, then use the blank one for your household.
- Open the file in Microsoft Excel. Using Google Sheets? Upload it to Google Drive, then open it with Google Sheets.
- Start on the Start Here tab. It has the same steps, right inside the file.
- The sample data is there so you can see how everything works. Type over it with your own when you're ready.
Here's how to set up your budget once, then keep it current in a few minutes a week.
1Set up income and budgets (one time, about 15 minutes)
- Open Start Here first. Yellow cells with blue text are yours to fill in. Italic yellow cells are optional. Gray cells calculate on their own.
- Open Setup. Check the budget year, then add each take-home paycheck and how often it arrives. We turn it into a monthly amount.
- Set a monthly budget for each category and pick Need, Want or Savings. 21 categories are ready to go, and you can add your own.
2Add your bills
- Open Bills. Add each bill with its amount, how often it comes, and the day it's due.
- Set Paid to Yes once it's paid. Status shows Paid, Due today, Due in N days, Upcoming or Overdue.
3Log spending
- Open Transactions. Add what you spend as you go, or once a week from your bank and card statements.
- Type refunds as a negative amount in the same category. Watch the Check column for anything that needs a look.
4Check the month
- Pick a month on Monthly to see budget vs actual. The Dashboard follows that month.
- Annual shows the whole year. On the Dashboard, paste numbers from your other Home tools into the Share box.
What the messages mean
The tool watches your numbers and tells you in plain words when something needs a look. Here's every message you might see.
What to do: Look at the category on Transactions, or raise its budget on Setup.
What to do: Pay it, then set Paid to Yes.
What to do: Fix the row. It won't count until it's clean.
Using Google Sheets or your phone
- To use Google Sheets, upload the file to Google Drive, then right-click it and choose Open with, then Google Sheets.
- Dropdowns, colors, and every calculation work the same in Google Sheets.
- On a phone, the Google Sheets and Excel apps work for quick changes. For setup and printing, a computer is easier.
- Want to start fresh? Type over the yellow example cells. Don't delete rows, since other tabs may be reading them.
Ready when you are
Everything above comes with our household budget planner for $14, updates included. Or get it as part of the full Home and Money Toolkit.
Common questions
Should I use take-home pay?
Yes. Use what lands in your bank account after taxes and deductions.
What's the 50/30/20 line?
A common rule of thumb, shown for reference only. Your own budget comes first.
Quick reference from the Start Here tab
Welcome
Most budgets show what you planned. This one also shows what really happened. Set your income and budget once, log what you spend, list your bills, and the Dashboard shows where the month stands: what's left, what's overdue, and which categories are running hot.
Where To Start
Open 'Setup'. Check the budget year, then add each take-home paycheck and how often it arrives. We turn weekly, every-2-weeks, twice-a-month and yearly pay into a monthly amount for you.
Still on 'Setup', set a monthly budget for each category and pick Need, Want or Savings. The list is ready for a home owner or renter. Rename, add or leave lines at 0.
On the 'Dashboard', paste your Recommended monthly home reserve and Total monthly debt payments into the Share box (or type your own). These set the Home reserve and Debt payments budgets.
Open 'Bills'. Add each bill with its amount, how often it comes, and the day it's due. Set Paid to Yes once you pay it.
Log your spending on 'Transactions' as you go, or once a week from your bank and card statements.
Pick a month on 'Monthly' to see budget vs actual. The 'Dashboard' follows that month. 'Annual' shows the whole year.
Which Cells To Edit
Yellow cells with blue text are yours. Italic yellow cells are optional and the label says so. Gray cells are automatic and locked so a formula can't be erased by accident.
Need to change a formula? In Excel go to Review, then Unprotect Sheet. In Google Sheets use Data, then Protect sheets and ranges. No password needed.
What The Results Mean
Monthly: Under budget (green) means you spent less than planned. On budget (amber) means right at the line. Over budget (red) means you spent more than planned.
Bills: Paid, Due today, Due in N days (within 14 days), Upcoming (later), or Overdue (the due date passed and Paid is still No).
Transactions: the Check column flags a missing date, an amount typed as text, a missing or unknown category, a date outside the budget year, or a possible duplicate (same date, description, category and amount).
Dashboard: Income, Spent, Saved, Money left and Savings rate for the month you picked, the Needs, Wants and Savings split next to the 50/30/20 reference, your top 5 categories, and bills due soon or overdue.
How To Clear The Examples And Reuse It
Easiest: open the Blank file that came with this one. It's the same workbook with the example entries cleared.
Or clear them here: select the yellow example cells on Setup (income and budgets), Transactions, Bills and the Share box, and press Delete. Keep the category names if they suit you.
New year: save a copy of the file, change the budget year on Setup, and clear the Transactions tab. Your income, budget and bills stay in place.
Good To Know
Take-home pay: what lands in your bank account after taxes and deductions. Use this, not your salary before taxes.
Biweekly vs semimonthly: biweekly is every 2 weeks (26 paychecks a year). Semimonthly is twice a month (24 paychecks a year).
Spent vs Saved: money logged to a Savings type category (like Savings or Home reserve) counts as Saved, not Spent.
Money left: Income minus Spent minus Saved. Savings rate: (Saved + Money left) ÷ Income.
Refunds: type them as a negative amount in the same category. They lower that category's spending.
Bills due on the 29th, 30th or 31st are due on the last day of shorter months, like February 28.
Monthly equivalent: a quarterly bill ÷ 3 or an annual bill ÷ 12. Handy for setting a budget that covers it.
Share box: the "Share with other EasyWorkTools Home tools" box on the Dashboard lists the numbers this file gives to and gets from the other Home tools. Copy them by hand. The labels match exactly, so it's clear where each one goes.
Getting Updates
Every update is free. When a new version is ready we email you, and you can download it any time.
Moving to a new version: copy the yellow cells from each sheet into the same sheets of the new file.
Using Google Sheets? Upload this file to Google Drive and open it with Google Sheets (or File, then Import, then Upload). The math works the same.
Your License
This file is licensed to one household. Please don't share, resell or post it online.
© 2026 EasyWorkTools. All rights reserved. easyworktools.com
Every tab
This file has 8 tabs, in this order:
- Start Here
- Dashboard
- Setup
- Transactions
- Bills
- Monthly
- Annual
- Lists