Ultimately, you need to decide what type of budgeting system is right for you based on your habits and circumstances. For example, when you've paid off your student loans, you can allocate more of your monthly budget for savings.
You may be able to meet those numbers in the future. If you try the 50/30/20 budget method and don't hit the percentages exactly, be kind to yourself. Or you might find the lack of detail makes it harder for you to improve your spending habits. You might find it easier to track the three categories rather than categorizing each individual expense. The categories also may or may not work for you. So, you may need to adjust the percentages to fit your situation. For example, if you live in a high-cost area, you may have to put a large part of your income toward housing, making it difficult to keep your needs under 50%. Depending on your income and where you live, earmarking 50% of your income for your needs may not be enough. Plus, there are some helpful budgeting printables included with the series that will make life a lot easier.The 50/30/20 rule can be a good budgeting method for some, but it may not work for your unique monthly expenses. Read The Budgeting for Beginners Series for additional help on creating your own family budget. If the free household budget worksheet pdf isn’t your cup of tea and you prefer to use a spreadsheet, use this free budget spreadsheet template. It’s basic and it asks you for all the information you’ll need as you build your own monthly budget example. Use this household budget template printable as you write your first family budget. To help you write your first family budget, below are a few resources you might find helpful. Once you know those two numbers ― how much you’re earning and how much you’re making, you can create financial goals, identify whether certain expenses are necessary, and a plan for your future.
Once you’ve done those things, you have a rough draft of your first budget. The second thing is to write down every bill that has to be paid each month. All this means is that you need to write down how much money you bring home every month. The easiest way to create a family budget is to simply start with what you know. Just save a little from each paycheck to cover the cost when it arises.įor more information on how to successfully save for annual, bi-annual, or quarterly payments ― check out this post. I recommend this method for anyone who struggles to come up with car insurance premiums, homeowners insurance, etc. This way when the bill comes, we have the money to pay it. Our monthly income fluctuates, but our bottom line income number is $2800 per month.įor things like our vehicle taxes and emergency funds, we created separate savings accounts with Capital One 360 so we can divide the total amount by the number of paychecks and have them automatically directed to one of those accounts. Our Family Budget Example for a Family of 4 Some of the most common household expenses may include the following:Ĭheck out this post for a more extensive list and tips on tracking your household expenses. This will be helpful when creating your own family budget. A great tool to learn how to successfully budget is the LAAB Budget Binder.īefore we get started, let’s go over some typical household expenses that you may have. You just have to adjust your numbers and spend money based on your priorities and your needs. Just know that you don’t have to make a huge income to make a family budget work for you. Take into consideration the cost of living in your area and make adjustments where necessary. With that said, take what you can from this sample family budget and use it to create your own. We’re fortunate to have a mortgage payment that’s way cheaper than the one-bedroom apartment we lived in back in 2009 (I know, crazy right?!). We live in the south, just about 20 to 30 minutes from our state’s capital and major downtown city. In this family budget example, you’ll see exactly how we manage to create a budget for a family of 4. And when I say realistic, I’m talking about folks that are struggling to find the balance between saving and paying off debt. Many folks I work with struggle to create their own budget because there aren’t that many monthly budget examples available that are actually realistic. Today I’m sharing this sample family budget (which is actually our REAL family budget).