What you get
A six-sheet Excel workbook built on zero-based budgeting principles, designed to be reset and reused each month. Every sheet connects to a central Dashboard so you can see income, commitments, variable spending, sinking funds, and debt payoff progress in one place.
Who it's for
Households that are actively trying to bring order to monthly finances — whether that means stopping overspend in a few categories, building a savings buffer, or paying down debt with a clear plan. It suits anyone who has tried a budgeting app and wants more direct control over their own numbers.
What's inside
- Dashboard — Variance Report: an at-a-glance summary showing budgeted versus actual spend across every category, so you can see at any point in the month where you stand.
- Income Planner: captures all household income sources and sets the total available to allocate, enforcing the zero-based rule that every dollar is assigned a job before the month begins.
- Fixed Costs Sheet: lists recurring committed expenses — rent, loan repayments, subscriptions, utilities — separated from discretionary spending so your non-negotiables are always accounted for first.
- Variable Spending Categories: tracks groceries, dining, fuel, clothing, and other day-to-day outgoings against the amounts you planned, with running totals updated as you log transactions.
- Sinking Funds Planner: spreads the cost of irregular expenses — car insurance, holiday travel, home repairs — across months so a large annual bill never disrupts the rest of the budget.
- Debt Thermometer: records each debt balance, interest rate, and minimum payment, and visually tracks payoff progress so you can see momentum build over time.
- Savings Goals Tracker: allocates a portion of income to named savings targets each month and shows how close each goal is to its target amount.
How to use it
Download the .xlsx file and open it in Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. At the start of each month, enter your expected income, fill in your fixed and variable budget amounts, and then log actual spending as it happens. At month end, review the variance report, adjust any category amounts that consistently run over, and reset for the following month.