Monthly budget template
Plan the month’s income and spending, see what’s left over, then log real spending as it happens. Your numbers never leave this browser.
Print at 100% / Actual size on US Letter paper. Your settings stay in this browser only.
Filling in the budget
Use take-home income in the income rows: the amount that actually lands in your account after tax and deductions. Wondering why that number sits so far below your salary? ahaboo has a narrated, clickable explainer on how US tax brackets work, which makes the gap far less mysterious.
Budget every dollar or pound to a category, including savings, until “Left over” is close to zero. That doesn’t mean spending it all. It means every amount has a job. During the month, write each purchase in the spending log and add up the Actual column at the end.
A simple starting split
The 50/30/20 rule popularised by US Senator Elizabeth Warren in All Your Worth suggests roughly:
| Share of take-home | For |
|---|---|
| 50% | Needs: housing, utilities, groceries, transport, minimum debt payments |
| 30% | Wants: eating out, subscriptions, hobbies, travel |
| 20% | Savings and paying down debt faster |
A rule of thumb, not advice. High-rent cities often push needs well past 50%.
Questions
Do the totals calculate automatically?
The planned totals do: type "Category | amount" lines and the PDF prints each budget figure, the income and expense totals and what is left over. The Actual and Difference columns stay blank for you to fill in by hand during the month.
What categories should a monthly budget have?
Start with fixed costs (housing, utilities, insurance, debt payments), then variable essentials (groceries, transport), then savings, then everything else. The example list covers the categories most households need; delete or rename freely.
Is my budget data sent anywhere?
No. The budget template has no AI feature and nothing you type leaves your browser. It is saved in local storage only so the page remembers it next time; clear it with Reset or on the privacy page.
Should I choose Letter or A4?
Pick the paper that is actually in your printer. US Letter (8.5 × 11 in) is standard in the US, Canada and parts of Latin America; A4 (210 × 297 mm) is standard almost everywhere else. The PDF page is built at the exact size you choose, so print it at 100% or "Actual size" rather than "Fit to page".
Why is there a margin around the page?
Most home inkjet and laser printers cannot print right to the edge of the sheet; they leave roughly 3–6 mm unprinted. A margin of 10–13 mm keeps every line on the paper. Drop it to 6 mm if your printer supports borderless printing.
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