TLDR: Created a budget tracker, if you’d like to use it, go to the GDrive link below and save a copy of the template. Basic explanation and usage below. I’d also love feedback on what to add or improve on. At the beginning of this year, I created an in-depth budget tracker to keep tabs on the inflows and outflows of my money that I can use for the entire year. A lot of pre-made ones that I’ve tried only do 1 or 2 months at a time. I included a lot of relevant tools that transformed this into an all-in-one worksheet.
This is great. Thanks for posting. I’ve filled it in with all my 2024 numbers to get more familiar with it. Is there a way I can add cash savings to the 50/30/20 tab or the pie chart on the year tracker tab? I also have most of my savings going to retirement accounts as payroll deductions, so is there an easy way to input that? Would I just add it as a regular transaction?
@Indra
Hey there. Glad you like it. If you want to add your cash savings and see it as part of the 50/30/20 or year tab, you could input it as income. However, I designed those tabs to only really consider income as a number to subtract the expenses from, so the only number affected on the 50/30/20 tab would be the ‘Unspent’ or the ‘Income’ section on the Year Tracker.
@Dallas
Got it. So it won’t really reflect in the pie chart, huh? That’s cool, I can work with that.
@Indra
As for the payroll deductions, I didn’t take that into consideration. You could put that under ‘Expenses’ and categorize it as ‘Retirement’ or customize one of the ‘Savings Custom #’ categories. For me, the ‘Retirement’ category is used for intentional, manual transactions that go towards my Roth IRA. However, please manipulate this template to fit your needs.
@Indra
Thanks for clarifying. So I should just treat the payroll deductions like regular expenses? Sounds simple enough.
I really love how detailed this is. I’m all about tracking every little expense. Are there any templates for tracking savings goals? I’d love to see that integrated.
Dale said:
I really love how detailed this is. I’m all about tracking every little expense. Are there any templates for tracking savings goals? I’d love to see that integrated.
That’s a great idea. I didn’t include a savings goals tracker yet, but I can definitely look into adding that in a future update. Maybe a separate tab for savings goals could work.
@Dallas
Yes, please. That would be super helpful. I like to have a visual for my savings milestones.
This looks awesome. I’m going to try it out. How do you handle unexpected expenses? Any tips for that?
Jordan said:
This looks awesome. I’m going to try it out. How do you handle unexpected expenses? Any tips for that?
Thanks. For unexpected expenses, I usually just categorize them under a separate ‘Miscellaneous’ tab or add them to the ‘Expenses’ section directly. It helps to have a buffer in your budget for those surprise costs.
I love the pivot table idea. I’m a bit of a data nerd too. Do you have any tips on how to set it up?
Ali said:
I love the pivot table idea. I’m a bit of a data nerd too. Do you have any tips on how to set it up?
Absolutely. Just select your data range and insert a pivot table from the menu. You can customize it to show weekly expenses easily. Happy to help if you have questions.