What should a monthly budget template include?

Income, fixed costs, variable costs, savings and debt repayment, and a figure showing what is unallocated. The last one matters most: money that is never assigned to anything is the money that disappears.

How do I use a monthly budget template?

Enter your take-home pay, then assign it across categories until the Left to assign figure reaches zero. Fill in the Actual column as the month goes on to see where you drifted.

Should I budget by month or by paycheque?

Monthly suits salaried monthly pay. If you are paid weekly or fortnightly, a weekly template usually works better because a monthly view hides the timing squeeze.

Monthly budget template

A zero-based monthly budget with working formulas. Free, no email, opens anywhere.

Last updated: 2026-08-07

Monthly budget (zero-based)

Income, three expense groups, and a live “left to assign” figure that reaches zero when every dollar has a job.

Download (.xlsx)Download .csv

Works in Excel, Google Sheets, Apple Numbers and LibreOffice. No email address.

How to use it

Put your take-home pay in the Income section.
Work down the categories, assigning money to each — including savings.
Keep going until Left to assign hits zero.
Fill in the Actual column through the month to see where you drifted.

Divide annual costs by twelve and give them a line. Car servicing and insurance renewals are not surprises; budgets that treat them as surprises fail in the month you can least afford it.

What's in it

Income section with planned vs actual
Needs, Wants, and Savings & extra debt, each with its own subtotal
Planned / Actual / Difference on every line
A summary block with Left to assign highlighted

Choose your platform

Other templates

All free budget templates