How to set-up a family budget

Creating a family budget could feel like your exploring the Wild Wild West.  Before we started budgeting, there was always more month left over than money.  Once we got it together, we felt in control of our earnings and made our money work for us, rather than the other way around.

Find out the steps we took to get our money under control below & how you can too!

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STEP ONE: FIND YOUR METHOD

In the world of technology, there is a ton of different ways to do a budget.  From apps to good ol’ paper and pen, there’s so many options.  The most important thing is to find out what fits your lifestyle.

After trying everything, I always came back to the same method – an excel sheet.  So, I stuck with that and fine tuned it along the way. 

You can download my latest version HERE.

STEP TWO: GET YOUR BILLS TOGETHER aka
FACE REALITY 

1: Start off by writing out every single item that you pay money each month + any unique expenses (tithing, lunch money, etc). 

It may help to check old bank statements to make sure you don’t miss something (trust me, it happens!).  This is everything from the reoccurring gym membership to groceries. 

Include. every. single. thing.

My example below also has a misc column for bills that are unique for the month. This include anything from back to school shopping to new tires.

You can also add rows to include “Date Night” or “Christmas Savings”. Seriously, make it detailed! Your goal is to have your entire month planned out.

2: Add due dates and put the payments in due date order. 

If you’re using an excel sheet, highlight the columns > Home Tab > Sort & Filter > Custom sort > Sort by the column where the due date is
(*Note you must have both columns highlighted for it to sort together! *)

3: Add the payment amount for each bill.  Sometimes you may have to include the average cost if it changes every month (think electricity and gas). You can update it as your statement comes in.

4(Optional): Add the outstanding balance to each credit card (including your financed phones if it applies!).  We do this in order to see how much debt we owe and what to tackle first. 

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If you’re doing the excel spreadsheet – be sure to download my version HERE.  

STEP THREE: PAYDAYS & PAYMENTS

At the top of our spreadsheet (see example below), show when each payday is and what your estimated/average check is. This can be changed once it comes in.

This may look different from family to family. Some may be paid weekly while others are paid monthly. Adjust your top-line accordingly.

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Get your budget sheet HERE!

STEP FOUR: “SPEND” YOUR CHECK AHEAD OF TIME

This is the fun part. Here you will get to see exactly where your money goes! In this step, you want to ‘spend’ your money on paper (errr…this case, excel sheet) before you physically spend it. This way you’re fully aware of where each dollar is going.

Double check make sure you have everything!

Make sure to include lunch money if needed as well as weekly groceries when assigning your money. If you were like me and just grocery shopped without setting parameters, it may be hard to figure out your budget at first. So visit those old bank statements or just be mindful next time you shop. (read my tips and tricks for grocery shopping HERE)

Get it down to zero

Lastly, I like to get our budget to reflect zero dollars at the end. Any ‘extra’ (this use to be the mindless spending at your favorite store!) would go towards debt. I typically pay this to our smallest debt (think Dave Ramsey) at the end of the month in order to get that out of the way. But this extra income can also go into savings depending where you are financially.

BONUS: TACKLE THAT DEBT

The most important part is to get in the groove of a budget before anything.  This will make you more conscious of your spending.  This may also be the opportunity to catch up on anything you’re behind on. 

Once you feel comfortable with tracking your money, start to really conquer your debt. I’ve personally researched tons of ways to do this and we’ve really liked Dave Ramsey’s teachings. I’ll admit, we’re not gazelle intense, but it’s truly help us put a reign on our money. We stopped using any credit cards and way more aware of where our money is going.

Budgeting can be hard, but sometimes the hard stuff promotes the biggest changes. I hope this helped you in some sort of way. If you like this kinda content, please let me know below! I will be happy to share as much as I can!