This Budgeting Worksheet for Beginners Helped Me Save $25,000! | Wholesome Goals (2024)

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Are you frequently unable to pay your credit card bill in full? Do you find your paycheck gone before you can enjoy it? Are you constantly paying interest fees, overdraft fees and can’t seem to catch a break?

Well, in short, unless you are completely debt free and have comfortable savings to lean on – YOU NEED A BUDGET. This budgeting worksheet will help you with your savings goals.

After hitting a low point in our financial life, my husband and I went 6 months living paycheck to paycheck with ZERO savings to fall back on. It was horrible for my mental health, I was constantly worried about what would happen if some major financial emergency came up!

What if our car runs up a $500 bill, AGAIN? What if I’m laid off and need a few months to find my next job?

I hated being at the mercy of money. So I decided to take charge of my financial life.

Our first goal was to set up an emergency fund.

I created complicated, unrealistic budgets in the past and failed to stick to them. I realized we needed something simple. Just baby steps to get us to the first $1000.

And that is exactly what we did. I created the Progressive Budget Plan which WORKED! I’ve shared the FREE Budgeting Worksheet and Spending tracker along with the exact steps I used to achieve my goal.

In 7 months, we got to our goal of $25,000. We even paid off our car loan in full and saved $4000 in interest!

Just a simple decision to make a budget helped us build a healthy savings account and become completely debt free in just 7 months!

So let’s get started!

STEP 1: SET YOUR BILLS ON AUTOPAY

Uncomplicate things!

Dedicate one checking account solely for your recurring, fixed expenses. This includes your bills & utilities – electricity, gas, water, internet, subscription services, insurance & loan payments. Set up these payments on autopay.

This step takes a load off! There is no need to stress yourself out by trying to keep track of each bill’s due date.

NOTE: Make sure that this checking account gets enough income deposited to cover those bills every month!

For example, all our bills & utilities have a fixed amount. They cost us about $700 a month, give or take $30.

So, when my monthly income gets deposited in this checking account, I make sure to leave $700 plus an extra $100 to cover all the bills. The $100 is peace-of-mind money, this way I never have to worry about overdraft fees.

Next, I transfer the remainder of my income to a separate checking account which I use for my variable expenses like groceries & credit card bills.

With this setup, you can get rid of late fees, missed payments and even protect your credit score!

STEP 2: TRACK YOUR SPENDING

Here’s the simple premise: If you don’t count where you are spending, how can you reduce it?

This is a super important step before we get to budgeting. You need to understand your spending habits.

Everybody has their own vices. Some love dining out (AKA me and my husband), some splurge on clothes, shoes or makeup. Others vacation too frequently or maybe they spend too much on parties.

It is important to become conscious of your spending habits before you can hope to tame them.

When we did this little exercise, we realized that we spent a whopping $800 on restaurant bills in a month! But we didn’t even realize that we were overspending until we wrote down our expenses!

This realization was the first step in our journey.

The second benefit of this exercise is that it helps to set reasonable budget goals for yourself.

So give it a shot! This exercise literally takes just 15 mins!

If you have a partner with whom you share your finances, do this exercise with them. For your budget goals to work, it’s important for both of you to be on the same page about your finances. Otherwise, you might be trying to cut back while your partner decides that it’s time for their 30th pair of shoes. 😜

As a beginner, it is super helpful to use pen and paper when you are tracking your spending.

Noting down and categorizing your expenses is a great visual exercise to help you become aware of your spending habits.

Here is a FREE Spending Tracker to help you get started! Keep reading to download your FREE Budgeting Worksheet! 😊

How do I use the Spending Tracker?

• There are customizable Spending Trackers included! Some of them have useful prompts to get you started.
• You can note down the month and year on your budgeting worksheet.
• I like to track my spending from the 1st to the 31st of each month. This way, it is easy to compare how I did.
• Log into all your bank accounts and start listing each transaction under the relevant category on your Spending Tracker.
• Lastly, sum up the expenses for each category.
• At the end of this exercise, you should have some good insights into your spending habits. You will have an idea about where you are splurging and what would be a suitable goal amount for each category.

When we saw that we racked up $800 in restaurant bills, it was an eye opener! I knew we had to cut down. BY A LOT. Based on our income, our ultimate goal for the dining category should be $150.

But such DRASTIC CHANGES ARE NEVER SUSTAINABLE. That’s where step 3 comes into play.

STEP 3: THE PROGRESSIVE BUDGET PLAN

Losing 10 kgs in a week is neither healthy nor sustainable. Similarly, trying to cut down 80% of your expenditure out of the blue is not sustainable. TRUST ME, I’ve tried it!

Even if you are able to make that change, you’d be miserable because it means that you’ve had to deny yourself A LOT.

Realistically, getting your budget on track will take you at least 3-4 months. Depending on how much you are overspending, it would require some lifestyle changes. It’s important to give yourself time to ease into it.

To cut back on our restaurant expenses, Dhruv and I had to start cooking our meals at home. And that kind of habit takes some time to stick. After driving home from work, tired and hungry, our go-to response was opening DoorDash to order dinner.

In order to slowly eliminate this habit, we promised ourselves that we’d eat out only 3 times a week. That meant on the other nights, we had to buck up and spend 20-25 minutes of our evening to quickly whip up some dinner.

So instead of forcing ourselves to never eat out, we took small meaningful steps to reach our goal. This progressive approach will definitely create a more lasting change.

We now spend only $100 a month on dining out and cook amazing meals at home! 😊

So keep this gradual approach in mind and start drafting out your monthly budget. Use the FREE Monthly Budgeting Worksheet to get started!

How do I use the Budgeting Worksheet?

Start by writing down your realistic goals for each category.

Take this time to re-evaluate your existing service providers. For example, check to see if you can enroll in cheaper phone or internet plans that meet your needs.

If you are renting, the next time your lease is up for renewal, try negotiating to a lower amount. I was stunned when I accidentally discovered this!

I was able to get a $100 discount on my rent – that’s an extra $1200 in savings at the end of the year!

If you’d like to read about more ways to save, I’ve shared my best tips to save thousands of dollars while still living in comfort!

While setting your goals on your Budgeting Worksheet, refer to your Spending Tracker to see how much you spent over the past month.

If you spent $500 on entertainment, reduce it by 20% and set that as your target for the next month.

Remember: Unrealistic goals are the quickest way to disaster!

Reducing our dining budget from $800 to $100 took time. Over the next 4 months, we set realistic goals.

1st Month – $600

2nd Month – $400

3rd Month – $300

4th Month – $100

By the end of Month 4, it got way easier to stop eating out!

And that’s it! You now have a budget for the first month! *Applause!*

Step 4: REPEAT!

Try out your Progressive Budget Plan for Month 1.

1. At the end each month, grab a fresh Spending Tracker and write down all your expenses.
2. If you could easily stay within your spending goals, GOOD JOB! You get to move on to the next step!
3. Chop that target by another 20% and add it to your next month’s budget! Repeat this each month until you reach your ultimate goal.
4. If you found it hard to follow your budget plan, don’t worry. Keep at it and try that plan again.

Some routines take time to change. But you are totally capable of achieving your goals!

PARTING TIPS

Make it a habit to log into your bank accounts AT LEAST once a month. I’m a stickler for card security. And yet, I’ve experienced three different instances of fraudulent charges over the years.

Because I check my accounts at the end of each month and literally go through each transaction, I was able to report these cases and secure my account.

So, spend the 10 minutes it takes to browse through your transactions. It helps you keep your accounts safe and it helps you monitor your expenses and stay on top of your budget.

If you want to take your finances a step further and learn more about budgeting, growing your savings and financial independence, sign up for our newsletter! You’ll receive free printables to help you conquer your financial goals and more!