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Household Budget Template
What is a Household Budget?
A Household Budget is a worksheet of projected income and expenses of a particular family. Whether you plan your weekly or monthly budget, a simple Household Budget will come in handy to manage large expenses, the incomes of several individuals, savings to help the entire family, and the debts and loans you are responsible for. Your budget can be as detailed as you want and may be separated into several parts to reflect the income and expenses of each family member or inhabitant to see who can contribute most with their income and what expenses can be avoided. A Household Budget template can be downloaded below.
How to Create a Household Budget?
Every Household Budget template is unique, and if you wish to customize it to suit your own needs, follow these steps:
- Prepare a list or table of earnings . Consider separating the income of every household member or roommate and then calculate the total amount. Do not forget Social Security payments, child support, and dividends since many people only limit their income to salary and forget other sources of income. If you earn money from your hobbies or side jobs yet cannot count upon it constantly, it is better not to include it in the Household Budget spreadsheet.
- Write down fixed and variable expenses . It is important to add the rent, mortgage payments, utilities, groceries, clothes, gas, and other travel expenses.
- Add free space at the bottom of the page or use footnotes to record discretionary spending such as entertainment and home maintenance . See how much money you spend on it every month - maybe, later these expenses become regular and you can be prepared to lay aside money specifically for them.
- Calculate the total amount of expenses for a week or month . A typical Household Budget should be based on your bank statements and receipts - see how much money you spent in the last few months.
- Adjust the expenses if necessary . Often one or more family members or inhabitants have subscriptions or memberships they do not use yet continue to pay for them without even realizing it. Think about the expenses that can be included in the personal budgets of every household member and how much money can you save for leisure-time activities with your family.
- If you find out your income exceeds your expenses, create an emergency fund to buy items required for the entire household - this way, you will not have to look for money urgently every time household appliances break.
How to Create a Household Budget Using Excel?
Since a Household Budget worksheet can be easily updated on all your devices if you keep it online or on your computer or smartphone, it may be a good idea to use Excel to calculate how much money you and your household earn and spend every week or month. Open Excel and on the main page of the program you can see all available templates - you will find a Household Budget template as well. There will be ready-to-use formulas so all you have to do is to insert your numbers and figure out the spending habits of your household. Alternatively, you can create a budget on your own - click on a blank workbook and add all the rows and columns you need to monitor your income and keep your expenses at a manageable level.
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