FAQ #

What if an expense is going to be reimbursed? #

If you expect reimbursement for an expense, then it probably doesn’t make sense to have that expense deduct from one of your budget categories. In this case, enter the expense as normal, but leave the category blank. Then, on the Income sheet, make an entry for the exact amount.

Leave the checkbox next to the income entry unchecked until your reimbursement has deposited into your bank account.

How do I record when I pay my credit card? #

Don’t record this! Pay your card whenever you wish without impact on your budget amounts. The next time you perform a weekly balance, your credit card balance will be lower, and your bank account will be lower as well by the same amount, so everything will balance.

If your credit card charges you interest or other fees, however, be sure to record these as regular expenses.

How do I record a transfer between bank accounts? #

Don’t record this! Transfer money between accounts whenever you need to without impact on your budget amounts.

Can I make an expense without assigning it to a budget? #

To do this, simply leave the Category empty on the Expenses sheet. Instead of deducting from a budget category, this will deduct from your “Available funds”. Be aware that this will impact funds available for allocation in the next month.

I don’t like recording all these expenses. Isn’t there a better way? #

If this bothers you, consider using cash for most of your everyday discretionary spending. Record an ATM withdrawal as a single expense to that category. Then as far as your budget is concerned, the money is “spent”, and you are free to use it without consulting the spreadsheet.

Personally, I find this is the budget category that gets the most used, often for very small purchases. A cash system works well for this type of spending.

How do I fix a discrepancy? #

See Fixing a discrepancy on the Weekly balance sheet.

How do I add or change budget categories? #

When you prepare to start a new month, edit or add the new budget categories to your Monthly Budget Template. Make these changes on the Initial setup sheet, before making a new copy for the month.

Then, copy over values from the previous month on the Monthly rollover sheet as you normally would. If you have renamed a category, update it after you copy it over. If you have removed a category, delete that entry from the copied over data.

The order of the budget categories on top portion of the Monthly rollover is irrelevant: the rest of the spreadsheet will use list on the Initial setup page. Just be sure the category names match exactly.

How do I add or change accounts or credit cards? #

When you prepare to start a new month, edit or add the accounts on your Monthly Budget Template. Make these changes on the Initial setup sheet, before making a new copy for the month.

Then, copy over values from the previous month on the Monthly rollover sheet as you normally would. If you have renamed an account, update it after you copy it over. If you have removed an account, delete that entry from the copied over data.

The order of the accounts on top portion of the Monthly rollover is irrelevant: the rest of the spreadsheet will use list on the Initial setup page. Just be sure the account names match exactly.

Last month went to hell. Can I zero out my negative budgets? #

This is okay! Sometimes you just need to start fresh.

After you copy over balances to the new month, feel free to selectively edit any budget categories to $0 on the Monthly carryover sheet before allocating your monthly budget. This will impact your total funds available, but sometimes it’s just easier than seeing a looming “-$298” carryover balance.

I’m living paycheck to paycheck. How do I live off last month’s income if it’s already spent? #

This may be a “Monthly budget template”, but it honestly works for any length of time. In this case, I would recommend using a fresh spreadsheet each time you receive a paycheck. Allocate your paycheck to the budget categories you need, and work with that until the following paycheck arrives. Then perform a “monthly” rollover to a new sheet.

Then make it your goal to save ahead until you can live off your previous month’s income. Create an accrual budget category for savings and put a little bit into it each paycheck. Once that category accumulates a full month’s income, you can zero it out and use those funds for a full monthly budget.

I have credit card debt. How do I budget with no “available funds”? #

You can use the spreadsheet with negative “available funds” and it will still help you keep track of spending. However, it may be difficult to see if you are making progress this way.

My recomendation is do not list your credit card(s) that carry a balance on the Initial setup sheet. Instead, consider it a bill, outside the realm of information tracked by the spreadsheet. Do not charge anything new to it (as this will not balance in the spreadsheet). Every time you make a payment towards their balance, record it as a normal expense, under your “Bills” budget category (or similar).

Eventually, once a card is paid off, add it to the Initial setup sheet and track it as normal.

Amazon is driving me crazy #

If you shop regularly on Amazon, you may have noticed they charge your card when items ship, not when you order them. If this is causing you headaches when balancing your budget, check out the Mixed transaction worksheet I’ve created.