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Plan a month, track what you actually spent, and download a real Excel workbook with live formulas.
A monthly budget assigns every unit of after-tax income a job before the month starts, then tracks what was actually spent against that plan. The value is in the gap between the two: it names the categories you routinely underestimate.
| Source | Amount | Remove |
|---|---|---|
| Item | Category | Planned | Actual | Remove |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Shares are measured against income after tax. Extra debt payoff counts as savings, because paying down a balance early buys back future income.
The download is a real Excel workbook with four tabs and live formulas, not a comma separated list with a spreadsheet extension. Everything you entered is already in it.
1. Income
One row per source of money coming in, after tax, with a SUM total at the bottom.
2. Expenses
One row per commitment with its category, its 50/30/20 bucket, what you planned, what you spent, and a formula for the difference.
3. Summary
Income, planned and actual spending, what is left, and the needs, wants and savings split as SUMIF formulas against the Expenses tab with the 50/30/20 guide beside each.
4. Details
Which month the budget covers, the currency, and how many lines it holds.
Keep each month as its own file rather than overwriting one. A single sheet shows a month; twelve of them show a pattern, and the pattern is what changes decisions.
Google Sheets
File, then Import, then Upload. Choose Replace spreadsheet so the formulas survive.
Numbers
Opens directly. Currency formatting carries over, though the tab order may shift.
Formula
Left over = income - actual spending | Savings rate = (income - actual spending) / income | Bucket total = SUMIF(bucket column, bucket, actual column)Income = Money coming in after tax, which is what the 50/30/20 shares are measured against
Needs = Costs you cannot stop paying without a real consequence
Wants = Discretionary spending, the part a plan can actually move
Savings = Money saved plus debt paid down beyond the minimum
Worked Example
4,000 a month after tax, against the plan on this page
Did you know? The 50/30/20 split comes from All Your Worth, written in 2005 by Elizabeth Warren and her daughter Amelia Warren Tyagi. The 50 percent needs ceiling was chosen because households that kept fixed commitments under half their income could absorb a job loss or a medical bill without borrowing, which is a resilience test rather than a spending target.
Sources
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