Monthly Budget Planner – Google Sheets & Excel Template

Description

A monthly budget planner that does the maths for you

This is a complete monthly budget planner built as a single spreadsheet. Set a budget for each category once, log what you actually spend, and the dashboard rebuilds itself — balance, income, expenses, bills, savings rate and six live charts, all filtered to whichever month you pick from a dropdown.

You get the same file in two formats: a Google Sheets budget spreadsheet you can copy straight to your Drive, and an Excel budget spreadsheet for Microsoft Excel. No add-ons, no subscription, no formulas for you to build.

What is inside the budget spreadsheet

• Dashboard – every number and chart for the month you select, on one screen.
• Budget & Categories – your income sources and expense categories with a monthly budget for each.
• Transactions – a full income and expense tracker with dropdowns, sorting and filters.
• Bills & Savings – recurring bills with due dates, plus savings goals and progress bars.
• Start Here – a short setup guide built into the file.

A dashboard that updates itself

Pick a month from the dropdown in the top-left and everything follows: current balance, income received, expenses paid and bills paid. Below that sit six charts — cash flow vs budget, where the money went, bill payments, how your income was split, income by source, and budget vs actual per category. You never touch a chart setting.

Your closing balance carries forward automatically, so month two starts with whatever month one left you.

A Google Sheets expense tracker built in

The Transactions sheet is a proper Google Sheets expense tracker template. Enter a date, pick a category and sub-category from dropdowns, type the amount and add a comment. That is it. Header filters let you sort and search, and a built-in check column flags any sub-category name that does not match your tables, so a single typo never quietly breaks your totals.

Never miss a bill due date

List each recurring bill once with the day of the month it is due. The sheet then shows Paid, Partial or Not Paid for every bill, turns the due day red when it is overdue and unpaid, and keeps a running “3 of 5 paid” count. Savings goals sit next to it with progress bars, so you can see how close you are without doing any sums.

Twelve months in one file

Most budget templates make you copy the sheet every month. This one does not. Keep logging into the same Transactions sheet all year and switch months on the dashboard to see each one. Your budgets stay the same unless you change them.

How to use the monthly budget planner

1. Set your budget. List income sources and expense categories, and a monthly amount for each.
2. Add bills and savings goals. Enter recurring bills with a due day, plus what you want to save.
3. Log transactions. Date, category, sub-category, amount. The dropdowns do the typing.
4. Read the dashboard. Pick a month and every KPI and chart updates on its own.

Who this budget template is for

Anyone who wants a clear personal or household budget without learning a new app: people paid monthly or biweekly, couples splitting bills, freelancers tracking income and expenses, students, and anyone moving off a banking app and back to a spreadsheet they actually control.

Works in Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel

The download gives you both files. The Google Sheets version opens with one click and copies to your own Drive. The Excel version works in Excel 2016, 2019 and Microsoft 365. Same dashboard, same formulas, nothing to install. Currency is formatted in US dollars and can be changed to any currency from the number format menu.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a Google account to use the Google Sheets version?

Yes. The Google Sheets file copies into your own Google Drive, which needs a Google account. If you would rather not use one, download the Excel file instead — it works offline.

Can I add my own categories?

Yes. Type your own income sources, expense categories, bills and savings goals into the blue cells. The dropdowns and the dashboard pick up your names automatically.

Will it work for a whole year?

Yes. One file holds twelve months. Keep logging transactions and use the month dropdown on the dashboard to look at any month.

Are the formulas protected?

Yes. Only the input cells are open. If you try to type over a formula you get a warning first, so you cannot break the file by accident. There is no password.

Can I change the currency?

Yes. Select the value cells and change the number format to your currency. Nothing else needs editing.

Is there any monthly fee?

No. You download the file once and it is yours. No subscription and no account required for the Excel version.