Budget Spreadsheet
A simple monthly budget planner built for starter salaries — track income, bills, rent, food and savings, with the maths done for you.
What's inside
A ready-made monthly budget split into four groups, with the totals, your remaining balance and your savings rate calculated automatically:
- Income — salary (after tax), side income and anything else.
- Fixed costs — rent, bills, broadband, subscriptions, transport and loan repayments.
- Variable costs — food, social, clothing and the rest.
- Savings & debt — emergency fund, savings and debt repayment.
Preview
Here's how the budget is laid out. The downloaded file has the working totals, remaining balance and savings-rate formulas.
Income
| Income | |||||
| Date | Items | Amount | Notes | ||
| 1 | 01-Aug-2026 | Salary | 2,800.00 | Monthly Salar after tax | |
| 2 | 02-Aug-2026 | Side Gig | 200.00 | Extra £200 distributing magazines | |
| 3 | 03-Aug-2026 | Food delivery gig | 100.00 | Extra £100 delivery gig over the weekend | |
| 4 | |||||
| 5 | |||||
| 6 | |||||
| 7 | |||||
| 8 | |||||
| 9 | |||||
| 10 | |||||
| Total Income | 3,100.00 |
Fixed Costs
| Fixed Costs (the "Essentials") | |||||
| Date | Salary after tax | Notes | |||
| 1 | 01-Aug-2026 | Rent | 900.00 | Due first of the month | |
| 2 | 05-Aug-2026 | Electric Bill | 100.00 | ||
| 3 | |||||
| 4 | |||||
| 5 | |||||
| 6 | |||||
| 7 | |||||
| 8 | |||||
| 9 | |||||
| 10 | |||||
| Total Fixed Costs | 1,000.00 |
Variable Costs
| Variable Costs (the "Optionals") | |||||
| Date | Salary after tax | Notes | |||
| 1 | 01-Aug-2026 | Weekly Latte | 34.30 | £4.90 per day | |
| 2 | |||||
| 3 | |||||
| 4 | |||||
| 5 | |||||
| 6 | |||||
| 7 | |||||
| 8 | |||||
| 9 | |||||
| 10 | |||||
| Total Variables Costs | 34.30 |
Savings and Debt
| Savings and Debt (Debt is shown as Negative) | |||||
| Salary after tax | Notes | ||||
| 1 | Emergency Fund | 2,200.00 | |||
| 2 | Bank Savings | 200.00 | |||
| 3 | Credit Card #1 | -300.00 | 29% APR | ||
| 4 | Credit Card #2 | -100.00 | 45% APR - Need to pay this off quickly | ||
| 5 | |||||
| 6 | |||||
| 7 | |||||
| 8 | |||||
| 9 | |||||
| 10 | |||||
| Total Variables Costs | 2,000.00 |
Summary
| Budget Summary | |
| Total Income | 3,100.00 |
| Total Fixed Costs | 1,000.00 |
| Total Variable Costs | 34.30 |
| Savings and Debt | 2,000.00 |
| Savings rate (higher the better) | 65% |
This is a preview to show the layout. Download the file to use the working dropdown, formulas and colours.
How to use it
- Fill in your income first (use your take-home pay after tax).
- Add your fixed costs — the bills that stay the same each month.
- Estimate variable costs; it's fine to round — you can refine next month.
- Decide what you want to put into savings or debt repayment.
- Check the Remainingfigure — if it's red, look at the variable costs first.
Tips
- Review it monthly; a budget is a habit, not a one-off.
- Aim for some savings, however small — consistency matters more than the amount.
- If money's tight, see our finance articles for practical, judgement-free guidance.
Ready to use it?
Download the Excel spreadsheetand start straight away. It's yours to keep and edit.
Download Budget Spreadsheet