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Budgeting

Analyze, track and manage your money

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”” – Benjamin Franklin

A budget is simply a WRITTEN RECORD of the income and expenses that you EXPECT to have for a given period of time.

Many people cringe at that word but a budget is just YOUR plan to save, give, or spend YOUR money.

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”” – Benjamin Franklin

A budget is simply a WRITTEN RECORD of the income and expenses that you EXPECT to have for a given period of time.

Many people cringe at that word but a budget is just YOUR plan to save, give, or spend YOUR money.

Only around 1/4 of Americans have some kind of written financial plan

65% of Americans Have No Idea How Much They Spent Last Month

Only around a quarter of Americans have some kind of written financial plan

People who don’t track spending tend to owe $5,000 or more in credit card debt (infographic)

People who make less than $50,000 a year are less likely to keep a budget (infographic)

More Than Half of Us Don’t Keep a Budget or Know How Much We Spend

Only around 1/4 of Americans have some kind of written financial plan

65% of Americans Have No Idea How Much They Spent Last Month

Only around a quarter of Americans have some kind of written financial plan

People who don’t track spending tend to owe $5,000 or more in credit card debt (infographic)

People who make less than $50,000 a year are less likely to keep a budget (infographic)

More Than Half of Us Don’t Keep a Budget or Know How Much We Spend

an infographic on recommended budget percentages These are recommended budget percentages by category.
Tithing / Charitable Donations10%
Savings10%
Food15%
Rent25%
Utilities10%
Trans10%
Entertainment5%
Clothing5%
Fun money5%
Miscellaneous5%
Total100%

budget templates

Easy-to-use templates to prepare your monthly budget whether you are a free spirit or a math whiz.

Zero Based Budget
Simple Monthly Budget
Personal Budget

budget templates

Easy-to-use templates to prepare your monthly budget whether you are a free spirit or a math whiz.

Zero Based Budget

Simple Monthly Budget

Personal Budget

Click icons below for more information

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Honeydue_logo
personal capital
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budget apps

Manage your budget on any computer or mobile device.

We do not receive any type of compensation for these endorsements.

budget apps

Manage your budget on any computer or mobile device.

We do not receive any type of compensation for these endorsements.

Click below for more information

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about EveryDollar
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about Intuit Mint
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about Honeydue
personal capital
about Personal Capital
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about Goodbudget

Make a plan for your money and your future

If you do not have a budget, on paper, it will be hard to win with money.

Book a session today to get a personalized plan to do more with your money.

book session

Make a plan for your money and your future

what happens when you have a plan

If you do not have a budget, on paper, it will be hard to win with money.

Book a session today to get a personalized plan to do more with your money.

book session

Have you tried our Financial Health Assessment?

Use this to get a general idea of your financial health. It only takes about 4 minutes to complete and best of all, it’s free!

also Explore these other free tools and resources

Tools

Useful tools to help you track, manage and understand your money

Webinars

Virtual classes for people of all ages discussing a wide range of topics.

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Source: Wallstreetmojo.com

Ease of use:
4.5/5

Recommended for: Users who want a simple budget layout.

A simple template with a side by side comparison of projected vs. actual expenses.

Data is calculated using a zero-based budget which means you should show a zero at the bottom of the budget once completed.

Click below to download

Excel
Numbers
Gsheet
PDF

Source: Zerobasedbudgethq.com

Ease of use:
4.5/5

Recommended for: Users who want a basic or visual layout. Budget with chart is also available on a different tab.

This basic template gives you a recommended spending amount for each category and compares it to actual expenses.

This template uses a zero-based budget which means you should show a zero at the bottom of the budget once completed.

Click below to download

Excel
Numbers
Gsheet
PDF

Personal Budget Template

Source: Apple Inc. (also available on the Numbers app)

Ease of use:
4/5

Recommended for: Users who want a more detailed view of their budget and expenses. Recording transactions is available on a different tab.

This user friendly template gives you a visual snapshot of your budget along with an additional tab to track your spending.

This template does a side-by-side comparison of budgeted vs actual spending.

Click below to download

Numbers
PDF

One of the best budgeting apps on the market. This app is easy to use and allows you to create a budget in minutes – for free!

Note: There is a paid version (Everydollar Plus) that will allow you to sync your banking information.

  • Easy to set up.
  • Create custom categories
  • Can budget irregular income.
  • Goal setting features

Cons: A monthly subscription is required (Everydollar Plus) to sync your banking information.

This app allows you to sync your bank accounts, bills and more – FOR FREE. An easy app to use with many features to track your finances including your budget, investments, and more.

  • Easy to set up.
  • Import banking, bills, and retirement and accounts for free.
  • Can be linked with Turbotax automatically.
  • Goal setting features

Cons:

  • Category limitations
  • Too many advertisements and upsells.

This app allows you to sync your bank accounts, bills and more – FOR FREE. An easy app to use with many features to track your finances including your budget, investments, and more.

  • Easy to set up.
  • Import banking, bills, and retirement and accounts for free.
  • Can be linked with Turbotax automatically.
  • Goal setting features

Cons:

  • Category limitations
  • Too many advertisements and upsells.

This app has been designed to allow 2-way in-app communication between couples to help in managing finances. 

  • Easy to set up.
  • Import banking, loan, and investment accounts from over 20,000 institutions for free.
  • In-app messaging feature to aide in communication.
  • Reminders for bills due.

Cons:

  • Category limitations
  • A lot of ads and upsells.

A delightful app that shows you every aspect of your finances in one app. With the ability to sync your bank accounts, this app has many features to manage your money.

  • Relatively easy to set up.
  • A ton of features to track every aspect of your finances.
  • Create custom categories
  • Goal setting features
Cons:
  • Overwhelming amount of features can be distracting for beginners.
  • Recommendations are not personalized to your situation.
  • Many advertisements and upsells.

Using the “envelope system”, this app is very useful for budget and debt tracking. Good for people who want a very basic way to manage their spending.

Note: There is a paid version (Goodbudget Plus) that gives you a few more features.

  • Simple to set up and use.
  • Create custom categories
  • Goal setting features

Cons: Useful for budgeting but not much else.