Remember, in order to be successful budgeting as a couple, your budget is a plan that needs to be discussed, tweaked, and revisited often. Either way, you’ll need to be consistent about tracking your spending if it’s not being done automatically by an app.
You can log your expenses as they occur or have a set time each day to do so. These apps even go as far as putting your expenses in the right category and alerting you when you’re nearing your budgeted amount. There are tons of budgeting apps that allow you to connect your bank account and debit cards to track your spending. Here are some awesome budget templates as well as an example of a budget. You can house your budget spreadsheet on Google Drive or Dropbox so that you and your spouse have access to reference or edit it at any time. There are two ways that you can easily track your spending with your spouse: Shared spreadsheet or templates After all, you need to know if you’re staying within your budget. The most important part of budgeting is tracking your expenses. If it’s less than your expected income, allocate the additional money to savings or paying down debt. Does it exceed your expected income? If so, you need to reduce some of your expenses. Total up these estimates and subtract them from your estimated income. However, the key is coming up with realistic budget amounts that you can both afford and stick to. You can determine what you want to budget for these line items. This is true for expenses like gifts and savings. In some cases, you’ll know the exact amount from a billing statement, while in other cases you’ll just need to make a decision on what your limit will be. An example would be taking a three month average of your grocery costs to get an estimate for the coming month. The easiest way to estimate your expenses is to take an average of what you’ve spent over the prior months.
#Household budget items free#
Therefore, it’s important to review your expenses each time you create a new budget.Įstimating and listing your expenses also allows you to see what can be reduced in your budget to free up cash for other things. Though some expenses may be recurring, the total cost may not be the same every time. Estimate how much you will spend on each item For example, your “housing” category could include mortgage, HOA dues, lawn care, and property taxes.Įven if an expense doesn’t occur each budgeting period, you can still include it in your standard list of expenses. Simply list your expenses within the categories that they belong to. Grouping your expenses into these categories not only keeps your budget organized, but it allows you to see where the majority of your money is being spent. These recurring expenses can be sorted into twelve standard household budgeting categories. There are some expenses that don’t change from month to month.įor example, rent or mortgage, groceries, and electricity are recurring expenses that you’ll need to account for. List out all of your joint household expensesĪfter calculating your total income, list out your expected expenses in one column. List this number at the top of your budget and remember that your expenses should NOT exceed it. Add these numbers together to get a total of how much income will be coming into the household to cover expenses for that budget. Once you’ve created a list of all of your combined income sources, list out how much you expect to receive from each one. Don’t forget to include income sources like: Income can come from more than just your 9-to-5 salary. Again, this could be a week, two weeks, or even a month. To begin creating your budget, list out all of the expected income that will be received between you and your spouse during the time period that you’re budgeting for. In fact, your income should be the first item that is listed on your budget. Knowing how much money you have to cover your expenses and other items in your budget is of utmost importance.
List all of your combined income sources and amounts
#Household budget items how to#
5 Steps to get started budgeting as a coupleįiguring out how to budget can seem confusing in itself since there are so many ways to approach it.
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