Monthly budget with Recap section (2024)

FAQs

How do you structure a monthly budget? ›

Try the 50/30/20 rule as a simple budgeting framework. Allow up to 50% of your income for needs, including debt minimums. Leave 30% of your income for wants. Commit 20% of your income to savings and debt repayment beyond minimums.

Setting budget percentages

That rule suggests you should spend 50% of your after-tax pay on needs, 30% on wants, and 20% on savings and paying off debt. While this may work for some, it's often better to start with a more detailed categorizing of expenses to get a better handle on your spending.

Key Takeaways. The 50/30/20 budget rule states that you should spend up to 50% of your after-tax income on needs and obligations that you must have or must do. The remaining half should be split between savings and debt repayment (20%) and everything else that you might want (30%).

DIY with the Personal budget template

This Excel template can help you track your monthly budget by income and expenses. Input your costs and income, and any difference is calculated automatically so you can avoid shortfalls or make plans for any projected surpluses.

A budget worksheet is a simple spreadsheet or chart where you can record your income, expenses and savings. Using a worksheet to track your finances offers several benefits: It tracks income and expenses in one convenient place.

Those will become part of your budget. The 50-30-20 rule recommends putting 50% of your money toward needs, 30% toward wants, and 20% toward savings. The savings category also includes money you will need to realize your future goals.

How do you create a simple budget? ›

The rule states that you should allocate 50% of your budget toward your needs, such as housing, utilities, groceries, etc., 20% of your budget toward wants like vacations and dining out and then the remaining 20% toward savings and paying down debt.

According to the same 2022 BLS study, the average American's monthly expenses are $6,080, ¹ which is about 77% of the average monthly income before taxes. This list of expenses covers everything from housing, health insurance and food to entertainment, personal care products and books.

The average monthly expenses for one person can vary, but the average single person spends about $3,405 per month. Housing tends to consume the highest portion of monthly income, with the average annual spending on housing at $1,885 per month per person.

The three types of annual Government budgets based on estimates are Surplus Budget, Balanced Budget, and Deficit Budget. When the revenues are equal to or greater than the expenses, then it is called a balanced budget. You can read about the Highlights of the Union Budget 2021-22 for UPSC in the given link.