So, it’s by knowing that number that you can prioritize your decisions to meet your goal to become debt-free as fast as possible.Īpp to try: Opt for YNAB. Every financial decision should be about reducing that number. If you’re struggling to get out of debt, the number of months it’s going to take you to become debt-free should be your guiding light. Specifically, it shows you how many months until you’re debt-free. While the budget aspect of this template is simple, what’s powerful is what it outputs. We included a free budgeting and debt reduction template in our guide to getting out of debt, which can help you build your debt snowball. That way, you see quick results and feel like you’re making progress with each payment. With the debt snowball method, you’re paying off your debt in order of smallest to largest balance.

If your goal is to get out of credit card debt, research has shown that the debt snowball method to be the most effective strategy. If the reason you’re budgeting is to pay off debt, check out The Ways To Wealth’s Free Budgeting and Debt Reduction Spreadsheet. Best Template for Getting Out of Debt: The Ways To Wealth’s Free Budgeting and Debt Reduction Spreadsheet

If you want something that automatically pulls data from your bank account and tracks how much money is coming in vs. Related app: Budgeting can be time-consuming, especially if you’re leveraging the envelope method Aspire uses. As you use it over time, it builds trend reports to compare month-over-month income and expenses.Outputs a dashboard with key metrics for the month.Uses an envelope-style budgeting method that allows you to keep track of every penny.There’s a Reddit community with over 5,000 members to help answer your questions.Comes with in-depth video instructions and wiki docs to walk you through how to best use the spreadsheet.The template is free, but it comes with more features than many paid options. The Aspire Budget Template is ideal for those looking to create a monthly budget while also tracking other important financial KPIs, like net worth.ĭuring our research, one budget template that really stood out was Aspire Budget. Best Advanced Budgeting Template (Google Sheets Only): Aspire It’s ad-free and displays key information right in the dashboard. Related app: If you want a simple overview of your finances, Rocket Money is our top choice for a free budgeting app. You can choose from a one-month period to a 12-month period.It uses basic budgeting categories, which is a good thing for beginners who don’t want to get too detailed but who do want a general guideline as to where their money goes.You can also download it first and start working on it offline.

You can fill it out online and then download the template to your favorite spreadsheet software, whether that’s Numbers, Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel.

Here’s what you get with this free budget worksheet: If you’re brand new to budgeting and want to get things started right away without much thought or work, we recommend Kiplinger’s Household Budget Worksheet. This might include reducing your spending on “wants” or finding places to cut back on “must-have” costs, possibly by changing your insurance plan or refinancing your mortgage.Kiplinger’s Household Budget Worksheet is a simple and straightforward budget template that’s highly versatile. If your current spending habits and expenses don’t quite align with the 50/30/20 rule, you’ll need to make some changes. There are also calculators, like this one from Intuit, that can help with this step. Once you’ve added up the last month’s expenses, you can determine how much of your income is going into each category-and, most importantly, whether your current spending complies with the 50/30/20 rule or if you need to make adjustments.

Extra debt payments (beyond the required minimum payments).

Other savings or college account contributions.

Monthly contributions to retirement accounts.

Minimum loan payments (student loans, car loans, etc.).

Contractual obligations/payment plans (gym memberships, appliance payments, etc.).

Legal obligations, like child support or alimony.

Ideal family budget percentages