Experts are always telling us that to get a handle on our spending we must our record our expenses. But who wants to fiddle with devising a system or learning complicated software? With this low-tech but high-functioning chart, all you have to do is click print.
I created this daily expenses chart in my first months of marriage when it seemed as if our money was being sucked into a black hole. My husband and I started recording everything from cappuccino to bus fare. It was fascinating to see our pennies roll into the little compartments, and it has changed the way we think and behave about spending.
How the Monthly Budget Sheet Works
- Print several budget sheets.
- Hang one each month in a central place, like your fridge.
- Every day of the month, write how much your family spends according to category.
- At the end of the month, total your expenses by category.
- Calculate your total monthly spending in the bottom right corner.
- Record your earnings when they come in and enter a total at month’s end.
- Compare how much comes in to how much goes out.
You can buy software or subscribe to online budgeting programs, but it costs money, requires sitting at the computer, and is usually more complicated than necessary.
We have been using this budget for nine years and find it covers everything. When we need to get more specific, we just scribble a key word next to the cost like “insurance” or “new glasses”. This helps us remember larger expenses at the end-of-the-month reckoning.
Category by Category
Grocery: If you’re really serious about this, you can separate out non-food items into other categories like Beauty or Household.
Transport: Car expenses (gas, repairs, insurance) or public transportation costs.
Household: Things you need for your house (from furniture to cleaning supplies).
Eating Out: Everything from Starbucks to the ice cream man.
Childcare: We hardly ever pay babysitters but I added this in here because I know a lot of people have daycare or nanny expenses.
Health/Beauty: Co-pays and medications, plus haircuts and toothpaste.
Gifts: Charitable donations too.
Entertainment: From cable TV to zoo passes.
Clothes: If you want to track how much you’re spending on kids clothes vs. adult clothes, mark accordingly.
Toys/Gear: It’s hard to figure out how much kids cost, since so many expenses are shared (rent, food, vacations, etc.), but some things are clearly just for kids.
Books: Self-explanatory.
Education: Classes, tuition, professional development.
Travel: Enjoy your vacation: lump everything together, including eating out and entertainment.
Pets: We don’t have pets, but I added this category for my fellow animal-lovers out there.
Office: Office supplies, computer stuff, and postage.
Phone: Include cell phone and internet.
Electricity, Gas, Water: Monthly bills.
House: Rent, mortgage, and major repairs (day-to-day supplies go in Household).
Taxes: Includes property, income, vehicle, etc.
Dues/Subs: If you belong to clubs or associations, or subscribe to magazines or newspapers, record it here.
Miscellany: You should rarely have anything that doesn’t fit in the above categories, but just in case.
What Can You Learn?
Besides seeing in clear daylight where each dollar is going, you’ll be able see the big picture which will help you arrive at your saving philosophy. Here are just a few of the benefits of keeping a daily budget:
Every Dollar Counts. It’s not so easy to “forget” incidental spending or blow off small expenses when you know you’ll have to expose them to the flourescent light of your kitchen when you get home.
Accountability & Teamwork. With a shared family budget, you can’t sneak a forbidden purchase (without having to lie about it). Since your spouse is held to the same standards, you increase the sense of being on the journey together.
Your Family’s Operating Costs. After three to six months, you’ll have an idea of what you spend on-average per month. This is really useful if you are wondering about changing jobs, moving to a new city, or how much money you can afford to invest.
Expect the Unexpected. We found that, even if we were doing well in day-to-day spending, we were hit by a large irregular expense almost every month: some weird tax, a trip, a broken dishwasher. It’s a bummer, but it’s life.
How Much to Cut Down. If you are in the red every month, you’ll know how much you need to reduce to break even. If you are ready to put money toward a goal, you’ll know how much you can set aside and how long it will take you to reach your savings goal.
Where You Can Trim Fat. Knowing where your money goes makes it easier to pinpoint areas to streamline. You can save huge amounts of money if you cut down on:
- Eating Out: Cook, pack lunches and take picnics.
- Entertainment: Renounce or reduce cable TV; choose free concerts, plays, and events.
- Clothes: Try used clothing (swaps, thrift stores, hand-me-downs, etc.)
- Beauty: Switch to a low-maintenance hairstyle (i.e., long hair with no fancy highlights); do your own manicures.
- Travel: Limit trips and vacations (if you go, drive and stay with friends).
Subscribe to Frugal Mama for more details about these money-saving ideas.
What Next?
The beauty of budgeting is that, once you have started to cut down, you can see your savings in black and white.
Annual Spending Chart
Keep your completed monthly budgets in a file folder. At the end of the year, fill in your monthly totals into the above Annual Budget to find out how much you spend per year, how much you earn, and how much your yearly expenses are by category. Staple all the months together with the year page on top.
We have a thick manila folder in our file cabinet called Budget, with nine years of stapled monthly sheets. I love seeing that fat folder: there’s something sentimental about it in a way that a computer file could never be. It’s a great economic history of our family – and a window into where we’ve been and where we’re going.
If you try it, let me know how it’s going. I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.
You also might like:
- 17 Ways to Save Money and Feel Good About It
- Why Tracking Spending is Good For You
- How to Save Time and Money on Everyday Household Goods with Alice.com
- 15 Ways to Save Money and Be Green
- 10 Ways to Save Money Shopping Online
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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
I have tried the system you describe and I love it! My husband asks me why don’t we just “do it on the computer”. The truth is it takes me too long to open the computer program up every day, enter everything in save it etc. When it is right there on paper, I just jot it down and it is done. Also I don’t like the system of saving all my receipts in a pile and entering them every month because I don’t get receipts for everything (like for buying veggies on the street), and I spend to much time sorting through them, looking for the dates and totals. I have used a similar system to this for two years and love it. It is so simple and effective.
Hi Jenny,
I’m so glad you like this system too. Sometimes analog just feels better. I still love my wall calendar and newspaper, for example.
Congrats on the launch, Amy! Impressive site. Daily recording sounds far too regimented for me, but heck, I record daily if my little one wet the bed or if I did my yoga, so why not one more daily jot?!
I generally ONLY keep track of all grocery receipts….monthly I grab them out of their home in a vase and calculate. It’s interesting to see how food expenses grow/shrink per month. BUT, it bothers me too, as Jenny notes above, that you don’t get receipts for all food purchases.
Plus, I concede it’s easier to ‘remember’ on a daily basis, than monthly. Also, this captures other expenses, like gasoline, etc…so, I’m going to give this a try. Thanks!
This is a simple, workable budget plan. The hardest thing is to get into the habit of recording all your expenses. That just requires self-discipline. But it is well worth it because without a budget, it’s so easy to piddle the money away and at the end of the month, you have no idea where it went. Personally, I’m still trying to get into that habit, though I do live frugally.
For me, the cable TV/internet/phone bundle pack didn’t make good financial sense. TV is a time-waster and I have a cell phone that’s always with me, so instead of spending $99 a month on the bundle pack, I spend about $33 a month on high-speed internet.
I also use my bike (or walk) for errands around town that don’t require hauling loads of stuff around. So that way I get a little exercise in the fresh air (sorry, New Yorkers!) and save on gas.
And when I realized that I could save almost $13 a week (over $55 a month!) by giving up my daily Starbucks solo espresso, it was easy to bid it arriverderci! (Besides, those cretins always tried to serve it to me in a paper cup! I miss Italy!)
So, with a little effort, it’s easy to find painless ways to save money. One last thing: I never buy prepared foods, unless it’s something healthy that I’ll actually use like those peeled baby carrots. See Frugal Mama’s Coupon article for healthy alternatives.
Fabulous site Amy! I’ve just printed out the monthly and annual budget sheets. Look forward to having a more accurate sense of the money going out the door. With that info in hand, I’ll be back to get more ideas on how to trim the fat!!!
This is great. I printed out a whole stack of these sheets. I was one of the suckers who bought the expensive software programs to keep track of our budget. After months (literally) of fiddling with it and trying to get all of our accounts to sync, we finally gave up. Paper and pen is always less complicated and easier to manage. I wish I could get my $50 back!
nice chart, I’ll try to use it this month! The only problem is that my monthly mortgage payment is too big to fit in the space…:-)
.-= Cornelia´s last blog ..No thanks, I only sleep on 37,000 thread count sheets. =-.
Hi A! I’ve used your fantastic budget for a month now. I thought it would be tedious and cumbersome to record the information daily; it’s not. It’s really kind of fun. Posting the info on our fridge makes it easy to remember too. I’ve made a 180 degree shift in attitude in less than a month.
In college, I paid a student an astounding $10/hr. to tutor me in physics. Once in the middle of a study session, she let out a small gasp. She confessed she forgot to record in her budget a recent candy bar purchase. I inquired further, clearly intrigued, and she kindly offered to show me how it works. I declined. She was not a cynical person and didn’t realize that my intrigue only masked my real feeling: horror. At that moment, I hoped I’d never have to attend to such mundane and minuscule matters.
Two decades later, I realize all the stress my attitude about money caused me. If you didn’t think about it, it would burn a hole in your pocket and then, when you needed it…hmmm, hey, where did it go?! And so, I’d sob when I received my quarterly tuition statements.
Taking charge of finances is an emotional issue, to be sure, but that’s another story…thanks for the eye-opener!
This is going to be so helpful in my home! We really lose a lot of money of useless spending on ridiculous things. We just bought our first home and really need to be smart about our spending. Thanks so much for sharing this!
Niceeee… I really like this post.
Many a times I feel like budgeting is just that little bit too hard. Quite often I feel overwhelmed by the long ardous process involved in budgeting. However financial planning is just one of those things you can’t do without, especially if one chooses to lead a comfortable life for themselves and there family.
Your refreshing approach to budgeting, although it might be quite a lengthy process seems like a very good way to ease into becoming financially savvy.
I’m going to give it a shot with the family.
I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes.
Hi Cash Saving Mum,
I’m glad you find the budget sheet helpful. It should be a fast and easy process to print out, post and start recording.
Good luck!
Amy
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