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10 Free Budget Spreadsheets & Tools
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Submitted by:
Kira @ Tip Hero
06/15/2010 3:50 PM
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The word "budgeting" may not make you want to get up and dance or anything, but the truth is that budgeting makes life a whole lot easier. When you've organized your finances and know exactly what you can spend based on your monthly savings, you'll alleviate a lot of money-related stress. By creating a track and staying on it, you'll be more in control of your finances and won't feel guilty about what you choose to spend money on.
So where do you start? Financial budgeting can be a bit time consuming, but there are tons of tools out there that aim to help you stay on track. This great article from wikiHow explains how to get started budgeting. First, you've got to figure out how much income you're bringing in. Next, make a list of all of the things you need pay for. This includes rent, mortgage, debt, gas, food, etc; anything you can think of that you need to spend money on. Basically, the difference of these two figures will be your overall "savings."
In order to calculate your savings/spendable money, you'll definitely be in need of a budget spreadsheet. Luckily, there are a plethora of these available to you online, and many of them are free. Here are some of the best free budget spreadsheets and software available to you. Different spreadsheets work for different people, so be sure to try out a bunch of different ones before you settle on the one (or more) that works for you.
Wesabe
This free web-based tool fully supports all international currency formats and most international banks with deposit or credit accounts. You should be able to link whatever account you need into the system to begin taking control of your finances. Wesabe not only offers many great tools for staying on track, but it is also a supportive community. This community shares financial tips and advice to help each other reach financial goals.
BudgetPulse
BudgetPulse allows you to organize your cash flow, expenses and bank accounts in one, user-friendly place. Manage your finances with easy-to-use charts and graphs that help you visualize your month to month spending. With BudgetPulse's layout, you should be able to keep track of trends and progress and therefore learn to better manage your spending. You can also use BudgetPulse as a fundraiser. You can create goals for yourself, share them with your friends and family, and then they are able to track your progress. They then have the ability to make donations using PayPal or Amazon to help you reach your financial goals.
PearBudget Spreadsheet
This free downloadable spreadsheet is fully equipped with cells, tables and features that allow you to organize your money. This spreadsheet is downloaded straight to your hard drive, so you don't have to worry about people hacking into your personal data. PearBudget has been downloaded by over 100,000 people, so hop on the bandwagon if you're serious about budgeting.
Mint.com
Widely acknowledged as one of America's best online personal finance services, Mint is an easy-to-use, free site that offers budgeting software for easy money management. Mint is a secure site where you remain anonymous. Basically, you link up your credit cards, banks, investments and input assets to determine your net worth. Then you have the ability to log into one account to see an update of expenditures and categorize and analyze them. The only drawback to Mint.com seems to be that it does not support international currency, but if you're dealing with American dollars, you should be home free.
Personal Budget Spreadsheet from Vertex42
This spreadsheet helps you create a budget for an entire year. It works well for predicting where you will stand financially in the future. If you plan on moving, changing jobs or making any other major life decisions or changes, you may want to use this spreadsheet to plan further into the future.
Free Budget Software
This downloadable Excel spreadsheet allows you to list your monthly expenses, track your income, tally your monthly averages and see how it all adds up. You can make budgets by month or year, personal budgets, and household budgets. You can also use this spreadsheet as an easy budget calculator to see the difference between your spending and expenses. Customize this spreadsheet based on your own needs.
AMSA's Spreadsheet
American Student Assistance provides this simple budget worksheet to specifically help college students keep track of their budget and stay in line financially. It's free, user-friendly and a good place to begin budgeting.
Christian PF's 10 Free Budget Spreadsheets
Here are 10 free budget spreadsheets, each specifically designed for different purposes depending on your needs. There is a personal spreadsheet, a family spreadsheet, a household spreadsheet, a wedding spreadsheet, etc. Pick and choose which are applicable to you because they are all free to download. These are all best used in Microsoft Excel, but will also work in OpenOffice (the free version of Microsoft Office) and Google Docs.
8 Spreadsheets from Budget are $exy
Budget are $exy, while offering a free budget spreadsheet of their own, has compiled their list of the top 8 free budget templates and spreadsheets around. None of them are perfect, but the beauty is that you can tweak and edit any of these to fit your needs. Most use Excel, Google Docs or Microsoft Word.
Still need some more help sticking to budget even after you've created your spreadsheet?
Try Stickk.com. This free service allows you to create a "commitment contract" that you can share with friends and family so that they can help you stick to your goals. This is sort of like the concept of using a frugal friend to save money. You put your goals out in the open and use the support of your network to stay strong and focused. Stickk.com helps you to be held accountable for your financial actions.
Also, to keep budgeting from being a completely drag, don't forget to add in some rewards. Create incentives for yourself for staying on track with your budget. Maybe if you spend less than your budget for the month, you can treat yourself to a dinner out, etc. Just make sure not to suck all of the fun out of your budgeting plan. Use fun as the motivator to stick to your guns.
In the end, different spreadsheets and different methods will work for different people. Try out a few and edit them to meet your needs to create your perfect budgeting plan. Any way you do it, budgeting will help you with your money goals and spending allowances. So use the free services offered to you and get budgeting!
Your Budgeting Thoughts
Are there any great free spreadsheets that you've found that work for you? How do you keep budgeting from being as dull as watching paint dry? Please share your budgeting tips/stories with us, and thanks for being a Tip Hero!
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