Budgeting changed my life.
It helped me learn how to save money, understand money, and stop wasting so much of the precious money that I work so hard for!
I know budget can seem like a scary word if you don’t know much about finance. But really, it doesn’t have to be. Think of ‘budgeting‘ as another way to say ‘being in control of your money‘. Who doesn’t want that, right?
Luckily, there are loads of free resources out there on the web to help you manage your money better, in an easy and fun way.
I’ve put together this list of free budget printables that you can simply print out, fill in, and start feeling happier about money today.
Whether you want to focus on saving money, paying off debt or just creating a general monthly budget plan, there are a variety of resources on this list to help you.
Print out, fill in, and start saving!
Free budgeting printables
1. Monthly budget planner
Keeping a monthly budget could be the best thing you ever do for your finances. But what if you don’t know how to start?
This monthly budget planner by Morgan M Woods will help you see exactly where your money is going, so you know where to cut back. It has spaces for different categories so you can easily see which category eats up the most money!
2. Detailed monthly income and budget planner
We all learn in different ways, and if you’re new to budgeting sometimes it helps to look at several different budgeting printables to see which one works for you.
This detailed monthly planner from Diary of a Frugal Family is six free printable pages to really help you break down your income, household bills and other expenses.
This planner will be really helpful if you have income from several different sources (such as child maintenance and benefits) because it will help you stay on top of all those different ins and outs.
3. Zero-sum budget template
The zero-sum budget is one popular way of budgeting. It’s based on the idea that you look at every pound in your bank account, and every pound that comes in each month, and give it a ‘job’. That could be savings, paying a bill, or fun money – but you have to give it a purpose. Don’t just let money sit aimlessly in your bank account as you’ll only overspend!
This post by From Pennies to Pounds has a great introduction to the zero-sum budget and there’s a link at the end to download your free printable budget sheet.
4. DIY cash budget envelope printables
The cash envelope system is another popular way to budget. It’s similar to the zero-sum budget, in that you have to decide on the purpose of all your money in advance.
But with the cash envelope budget, you physically take your money and put it into separate labelled envelopes for each category. Once an envelope is empty, you’ve spent your allocated allowance and you can’t spend any more!
Switching from credit cards to the cash envelope system can be a really effective way to save money, because its a physical reminder that you’re spending real money – and once it’s gone, it’s gone!
Thinking Closet has free budget envelope printables that are designed to fit inside your wallet. You can even print them onto cute paper to make fun envelopes!
5. Budget binder
Ok, maybe you’re starting to get into this budgeting thing! Or maybe you just love sitting down with your pen and paper and getting organised.
In that case, you will love this amazing free printable budget binder from Simply Unscripted. The binder has over 20 different printables that you can download for free, including:
- Bill Payment Checklist
- Bills by Due Date
- Financial Goals Worksheet
- Monthly Budget Tracker
- Blank Budget Template
- Irregular Expense Worksheet
- $1000 Savings Tracker
- Debt Payments Tracker
… and lots more. You can just print out the sheets you need, or print the whole thing and put it in a nice folder.
6. Meal planning template
When you’re trying to save money, meal planning is a great way to cut down costs by reducing food waste and cutting down on impulse buys at the supermarket!
It can also help cut down on stress on busy weekday evenings 🙂
This post has instructions on how to meal plan, plus a link to a free meal planning template to help you get organised in the kitchen.
7. 1% at a time challenge
I love the idea of this 1% savings challenge by Emma Drew! The idea is to take any big savings goal and divide it into 1% chunks.
For example, say you want to save £500 for a holiday. 1% of £500 is £5. So rather than focus on the big goal, simply focus on saving or making £5 at a time. Doesn’t that sound more achievable?
Emma’s printable tracker is divided into 100 squares so you can colour or tick each box as you go. It’s a huge motivator!
8. 1p Saving Challenge
This 1p saving challenge by Skint Dad is for you if you think you don’t have any spare money to save. S
tart on the first day of your challenge (it would be awesome to start this on 1st January, but of course it can be any day!) and save just 1p. The next day, save 2p. Keep on increasing your savings by just 1p each day.
By the end of the year, you’ll have an amazing £667.95 in your savings pot, and you’ll have acquired a new habit for saving money! This could be a great way to save money for Christmas.
Visit Skint Dad for a printable savings tracker to mark off your progress.
9. Debt payment tracker
If you’re trying to pay down debt, this simple printable debt tracker by Laura’s Crafty Life will help you stay organized and give you the motivation to make those payments every month.
10. Debt thermometer
Here’s another useful debt repayment tracker.
This printable, from A Cultivated Nest, has a cute thermometer design that you can colour in a little at a time as you move towards your goal. It’s inspired by financial guru Dave Ramsey.
11. Christmas budget tracker
It’s no secret that Christmas can be the most expensive time of the year. But with a little planning and awareness, you can cut down on the financial burden.
This Christmas budget tracker from Cook With a Shoe will help you keep track of your spending and also plan your shopping list!
It has spaces to record everyone you want to buy for, your planned budget for each person, and your actual spend.
Don’t forget to record all those extras like wrapping paper and cards too.
Did these budget worksheets help you?
I tried to put together a variety of different resources to help you with the specific needs of you and your family!
I hope that these free printables can help you improve your finances.
Do you have a budget? Do you know of any other good resources to share? Let us know in the comments!
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