It is important to create an individual or family budget. If you plan on how you spend and save your money, you might receive greater rewards in the future. These steps might help you create your monthly budget.

  • Establish a goal. Ask yourself what you want to get out of making a budget. Is it to create peace of mind? Pay your bills on time and save money? Improve your credit score and get out of debt? Or are you saving for a big purchase like a house? Once you decide on your goal, write it down so you can remind yourself why it’s worth the effort to stick to your budget.
  • Establish a timeline. Include a timeline of when you would like to reach your goal to allow you to backwards plan how much money you need to save in order to reach your goal at that desired time.  Identifying a timeline will also help you determine how much you can actually save and how long it will take you to reach your financial goal.
  • Gather your financial information. In order to create a budget, you need to know exactly what your monthly earnings and expenses are. This includes pay stubs, bank statements, bills and receipts. In addition to reviewing paper records, remember to look up your account information online, including electronic billing and automatic bill payments.
  • Organize your incomes and expenses into categories. The next step is to figure out where your money is coming and going and why. First, separate your incomes and expenses into the following categories:
    1. Income
    2. Rent/mortgage, electricity, phone, water and sewer, etc.
    3. Auto loan, home insurance, and auto insurance.
    4. Credit cards, personal loans, student loans, and medical bills.
    5. Food, clothes, travel (gas).
    6. Dining out, entertainment, and gifts.
    7. Know cash short or extra and reduce unnecessary spending.
  • Calculate the information. You put all the information you’ve gathered into a written ledger or type it into Excel, or you may want to use a digital budgeting tool that will not only calculate your budget but also make suggestions on how to improve your spending. You simply load your information into the software or app of your choice and let it work for you. It will create a budget personalized just for you. A digital budgeting tool is intuitive, easy to use, helps reduce errors, and is often available for free or for a small fee.
  • Look for ways to decrease your spending. Take a look at your discretionary expenses and identify where you can spend less and save more so you can reach your financial goal.
  • Review your budget monthly. Update your income and expense information at least monthly to monitor your progress and look for ways to continue to save. Think of this monthly budget maintenance as a time to reflect on what you’ve accomplished.

Select and click the budget template at the links below to see which one works best for you:

– Projected and Actual Individual or Family Monthly Budget

– Simple Individual or Family Monthly Budget