Using a budget template is one of the easiest ways to start managing your money better and reach your financial goals.
It’s time to stop the money stress and take back control. You just need a simple budget template, tracker, or spreadsheet to help you track your money.
Luckily there are plenty of free budget templates and financial tools available for you to use.
So, what are the best budget templates, tools, and apps for you to use? Let’s take a closer look at our favorite options.
- Best for Beginners – Printable Monthly Budget Template
- Best For Advanced – Google Sheets
- Best Hands Off Budgeting – Mint
- Best Net Worth Tracker – Personal Capital
What is a Budget Template?
A budget template helps you track your monthly income and expenses with accuracy- so you easily manage your money and know exactly where your money is going each month.
Budget templates can be printable, digital, or even a simple user-friendly mobile app.
Over time your budget will show you your spending habits. This will allow you to see where you are wasting money and make a better plan for the future.
1. FREE Monthly Budget Template
We created our FREE simple budget template to be as straightforward and easy to use as possible. You can customize and use it for any financial situation!
Our free template is both printable as a budget worksheet and digitally like a spreadsheet that will auto-calculate for you.
We found when you are first getting started with a monthly budget, nothing beats pen and paper, hence why we made a whole budget planner and some templates for you! We even have a meal plan template as well.
Add your income at the top then subtract your fixed expenses, variable expenses, debt, and savings then watch our digital budget auto-calculate your monthly cash flow at the bottom.
You can head here to grab our FREE budget template now.
2. Google Sheets Budget Spreadsheet
Of course, Google never lets you down with its products and services!
Google Sheets has plenty of budget templates and spreadsheets to choose from, and unlike Microsoft Office, it’s free with your Gmail account.
If you love looking at the numbers and tracking every last penny, then a Google Sheets budget spreadsheet will be perfect for you.
This type of template is perfect for individuals that like complete control and are great with numbers. Using a budget spreadsheet is a very hands-on method of budgeting.
3. Microsoft Excel Budget Template
Microsoft Excel has some incredible budget templates that you can use if you have Microsoft Office, you can pick a budget spreadsheet for whatever suits your needs.
Microsoft has a variety of products and services, and their templates range from personal family budgets, monthly budget templates, holiday budget templates, budget calculators, and even wedding budget trackers, they have plenty of free options to use.
If you can’t find a pre-made template that will fit your needs you can always learn how to create your own custom budget template in Excel.
4. Mint (Free App)
Mint is absolutely FREE and by far our favorite hands-off approach to budgeting- Kelan and I have been using Mint to budget our money for more than a decade!
If you want to automatically track your spending, know what your monthly cash flow is, and reach your financial goals, then Mint is a perfect budgeting solution for your budgeting needs.
You can read our full in-depth Mint review here.
5. Personal Capital (Free App)
Personal Capital is another great free online budgeting tool to use to track your monthly and yearly finances.
Personal capital is great for understanding your monthly spending, cash flow, investments, retirement, and net worth.
Out of all the budgeting apps, Personal Capital easily takes the cake when it comes to its net worth tracker and retirement planning.
We often go into our Personal Capital account about once a month to look at the big picture of our finances and make sure we are hitting all of our goals.
6. Vertex42 Free Budget Spreadsheets
Vertex42 has a huge collection of budget templates and worksheets for you to use. The best part is they are all free!
Whether you are looking for a family budget planner, personal budget, money management system, monthly household budget, or a simple budget worksheet Vertex42 has you covered.
We love that they have so many free budget templates for you to download and start using. They are simple and easy to use to help you get your money under control again.
7. YNAB – (Paid App)
YNAB is one of the fastest-growing budgeting software we have ever seen. Unlike Mint where it is a set it and forget it budgeting system YNAB will keep you on your toes and force you to budget every single dollar.
This is really a great budgeting software that is perfect for someone that does not have a lot of self-control.
You can break down your finances over the span of multiple months, as shown above, to see how much of your money is being spent. I love the circle graph and the breakdown in percents.
For a small fee of $6.99 per month, YNAB promises to help you take control of your finances.
8. EveryDollar (Paid App)
EveryDollar allows you to create your first budget in less than 10 minutes and easily track your spending throughout the month. EveryDollar easily has one of the best user experiences around when it comes to budget templates.
The feel is very clean, organized, and as straightforward as they come. A crucial aspect of managing your money and learning how to budget.
The mobile app is very convenient but does last some of the features that other apps have to help you better manage your money effectively.
With a huge user base, you can’t go wrong starting your budgeting journey with EveryDollar.
9. Mvelopes (Paid App)
If you love the concept of Dave Ramsey’s budget envelope system, then Mvelopes digital budgeting app will work great for you.
I love how you can open different “envelopes” to check on how much you have budgeted, funded, and spent. A digital take on the classic envelope system.
You should note that this budgeting app is not free and their monthly subscription costs around $5 per month.
10. Pocket Guard (Paid App)
Pocket Guard is designed to help overspenders track their spending and control their finances better.
It’s a very friendly program to use, has some unique features, the ability to link with other financial products (like Mint), and their customer service department is top-notch.
With Pocket Guard you can easily set up budgets for different income and expenses or even for specific people.
You can easily create different budgets for each credit card bill, set automated reminders and payments, and see your past balances as well as pay-off date progress.
How Does a Budget Template Work?
Simply take your income minus your expenses to quickly see where your money is going and how much you have left each month.
You can learn all the budgeting tips and tricks you want but the most important thing is to find an easy-to-use budgeting system that works for you.
In order to live the stress-free life that you want you NEED to learn how to budget your money.
Should You Use Budget Templates or Apps?
This really depends on what you are the most comfortable with. You want a budgeting system that fits your personality and needs.
Budgeting can be so overwhelming and time-consuming when you are first getting started so keeping it simple is always the best answer.
By selecting one of these best budgeting templates and apps to use you will have far more control over your spending and entire financial future.
Final Thoughts
Whether you are using a free printable budget template or an online personal budget app the key is finding one you will stick with.
Budgeting is the key to reaching your financial goals and ultimately financial freedom.
Get started budgeting with one of these many budget templates today and start creating those good money habits.
