Microsoft Excel 2013 Family Budget “Templates” for 2016

1. Do you have a budget? 
2. Do you stick to it? 
3. Do you track your expenses?
4. Is it too much work to make sure your spending is within your budget? 

If you answered YES to the last question, regardless of how you answered the first three questions, I have a solution for you!

I struggle with sticking to a budget.  For about the first year or so of our marriage I only kept track of our expenses because we weren’t sure exactly what to budget for.  (I think this was alright for us since we had money and time to spare – but only barely.)

Then, in the last year we set up a budget as best as we could with a very random pattern of income.  But it got tiring adding up all the amounts we spent in each category each month and then comparing it to our budget.

The New Family Budget Spreadsheet

What I am about to reveal to you is actually an updated and much cooler version of what I adapted for us.

I took some online courses this year that included Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced courses in Microsoft Excel 2013.  I absolutely loved it!  I took what I learned in those courses to set up these linked worksheets to make the user’s job so much easier.

Features

• Track your monthly expenses, including details such as cheque number, date, description of transaction, location, account transferred from or into, and credit (deposit) or debit (withdrawal).
• Watch as your balance is calculated for you after each transaction is entered.
• See whether your cash flow is increasing, decreasing, or staying the same each month.
• Compare your starting balances to the current balances in each account.
• Save time by listing frequently used descriptions and locations to choose from a drop-down list. (optional)
• Watch as each category’s expenses or earnings are calculated for you each month.
• After entering in your proposed budget, see different categories turn red if your spending has exceeded your budget for that month.
• BONUS:  View a breakdown of your yearly expenses in a pie chart.

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Download today and have your questions answered in next week’s post!

Instructions are included in the files, but they will be more in-depth here for future reference.

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Download Instructions:

Two files are included in this free download: FamilyBudget_Balance2016.xlsx and FamilyBudget_Plan2016.xlsx.  These are not true templates because they are linked together, but they act as templates.  It is necessary to keep them in the same folder or else the data can’t be transferred to FamilyBudget_Plan2016.xlsx.

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Note: I found some errors in one of the files.  If you downloaded the files before Jan 2, 2016 you may want to re-download them.

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You will need to unzip the file folder after you download it.  Then move the files to your desired location but just make sure they are saved in the same folder!

DO NOT rename, move, or delete:

• File names
• Tables
• Columns or rows within a table
• Headers
• Sheet tabs
• Cells with formulas

DO rename, sort, or insert:

• Category items
• Account names
• Frequently used descriptions and locations
• Rows into monthly balance tables (how-to included)

TIP:  It is recommended, though not necessary, that both files are open whenever changes are being made, preferably opening FamilyBudget_Balance2016.xlsx before FamilyBudget_Plan2016.xlsx.

[Download now!]

If you download, please comment below and share the wealth!  (Pun totally intended.)

Please ask any questions you have about using these files!

Next week’s topic: [Family Budget Spreadsheets FAQ]