Free Excel template
Free Excel monthly budget template
For anyone who wants to see, in one sheet, where this month's money went compared to the plan. Type what you budgeted and what you actually spent; the template works out what is left in each category, flags anything over budget, and totals spending by group with SUMIF. It also shows what is left from your take-home pay and your savings rate.
Preview and try it
This is the template's sheet, calculated by the same engine as the Cellwise app. Change any number to see the formulas react before you download.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Category | Group | Budget | Actual | Remaining | % used | Status |
| 2 | Rent | Housing | 1450 | 1450 | 0 | 1 | OK |
| 3 | Electric and water | Housing | 180 | 164.32 | 15.68 | 0.91288888889 | OK |
| 4 | Internet | Housing | 65 | 65 | 0 | 1 | OK |
| 5 | Groceries | Food | 520 | 587.4 | -67.4 | 1.1296153846 | Over |
| 6 | Dining out | Food | 150 | 212.75 | -62.75 | 1.4183333333 | Over |
| 7 | Car payment | Transport | 310 | 310 | 0 | 1 | OK |
| 8 | Gas | Transport | 140 | 118.6 | 21.4 | 0.84714285714 | OK |
| 9 | Car insurance | Transport | 128 | 128 | 0 | 1 | OK |
| 10 | Phone | Bills | 55 | 55 | 0 | 1 | OK |
| 11 | Subscriptions | Bills | 40 | 52.97 | -12.97 | 1.32425 | Over |
| 12 | Entertainment | Fun | 120 | 96.1 | 23.9 | 0.80083333333 | OK |
| 13 | Emergency fund | Savings | 500 | 500 | 0 | 1 | OK |
| 14 | Total expenses | 3658 | 3740.14 | -82.14 | 1.0224548934 | ||
| 15 | |||||||
| 16 | Take-home pay this month | 4200 | |||||
| 17 | Total spent | 3740.14 | |||||
| 18 | Left over | 459.86 | |||||
| 19 | Savings rate | 0.11904761905 | |||||
| 20 |
How the formulas work
Remaining and % used per category
Budget minus actual. A positive number is money left; a negative one means you overspent. Next to it, F2 divides actual by budget, so 100% is exactly on plan. The IF guards against a category you have not budgeted for yet, which would otherwise show #DIV/0!.
Flag categories that went over
IF compares actual with budget and writes Over or OK. In the sample, Groceries, Dining out and Subscriptions are over. To make overspending jump out, select G2:G13 and add Home > Conditional Formatting > Highlight Cells Rules > Text that Contains, "Over".
Total spending by group with SUMIF
SUMIF adds the Actual column only for rows whose Group matches the name in A22. The dollar signs lock the ranges so you can copy the formula down the group list and only A22 changes. Add a new group by typing it in column B for your categories and adding its name to the list below.
Savings rate
This adds every row in the Savings group and divides by take-home pay in D16. It shows as a percentage because the cell is formatted with 0%. Put retirement or investment transfers in the Savings group too and they count automatically.
Make it yours
- Add a category by inserting a row inside the list (for example, right-click row 13 > Insert). Inserting inside a range widens every SUM and SUMIF that refers to it; a row added directly below the last category is not picked up, so check the Total formula if you add rows there.
- Make a copy of the sheet for each month: right-click the sheet tab > Move or Copy > tick Create a copy. Then clear the Actual column and start fresh.
- Track irregular costs (car repairs, gifts, annual subscriptions) by budgeting a monthly amount and keeping the leftover. A positive Remaining in those rows is money set aside, not money saved.
- If your income varies, put your lowest typical month in D16 so the plan still works in a slow month.
FAQ
Does this budget template work in Google Sheets?
Yes. Upload the .xlsx to Google Drive and open it with Google Sheets, or use File > Import. SUM, SUMIF and IF work the same way there.
Should I budget with gross or take-home pay?
Use take-home pay, the amount that actually lands in your account after tax and deductions. Budgeting from gross pay overstates what you can spend.
Why does the % used column show 0% for a new category?
When Budget is 0 the formula returns 0 instead of dividing by zero. Enter a budget amount and the percentage appears.
Functions used
Related guides
- SUMIFS with multiple criteria in Excel
- Absolute vs relative cell references in Excel
- #DIV/0! error in Excel
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