How to Make a Monthly Budget in Google Sheets (Step by Step)

A simple monthly budget in Google Sheets takes about 20 minutes to build from scratch. You need four columns — Category, Budgeted Amount, Actual Amount, and Difference — one row per spending category, and a SUM formula at the bottom. If you would rather skip the setup, a ready-made template gets you started in two minutes.

Why most budgets fail before the month is over

Most budgets fail not because people spend too much, but because the budget lives nowhere permanent. A note on your phone gets ignored. A vague mental plan has no numbers to check. A spreadsheet you open every week turns budgeting into a habit instead of a chore, because the data is always there — no app subscription, no login, no algorithm deciding what categories matter.

Google Sheets is free, works on any device, saves automatically, and lets you share with a partner. That makes it one of the most practical budgeting tools available to anyone, anywhere.

What should a monthly budget spreadsheet include?

A complete monthly budget spreadsheet should include five things: a list of income sources, a list of spending categories, a column for your planned (budgeted) amounts, a column for what you actually spent, and a summary that shows whether you are ahead or behind for the month.

Optional but useful additions include a savings row, a debt payment section, and a visual chart that shows spending by category at a glance. The SheetReady Monthly Personal Budget Planner includes all of these in one pre-formatted file.

How to build a monthly budget in Google Sheets from scratch

Step 1 — Open a blank Google Sheet and name it

Go to sheets.new in your browser. This opens a blank spreadsheet instantly. Click the filename at the top ("Untitled spreadsheet") and rename it "June 2026 Budget" or whatever month you are working on.

Step 2 — Set up your income section

In cell A1 type "INCOME". In A2 type "Job / salary". In A3 type any other income source (freelance, side hustle, rental, etc.). In column B, enter your expected amounts next to each source. Add a SUM formula in the row below: =SUM(B2:B3).

Step 3 — Set up your expense categories

Skip a row, then in A5 type "EXPENSES". Common categories to list below it:

Leave column B for your budgeted amount and column C for what you actually spend during the month.

Step 4 — Add a Difference column

In column D, for each row enter =B-C. A positive number means you are under budget. A negative number means you overspent. Conditional formatting (Format → Conditional formatting) lets you colour positive numbers green and negative numbers red automatically — the official Google Sheets help on conditional formatting walks through the steps.

Step 5 — Add a summary row

At the bottom of your expenses list, add a row labelled "Total Expenses" using =SUM(C:C) (adjust the range to match your rows). Then add a "Remaining" row: =TotalIncome - TotalExpenses. That single number tells you whether you finished the month in the black.

Step 6 — Lock in a weekly review habit

A budget only works if you update it. Open the sheet once a week, enter what you spent, and check the difference column. Ten minutes a week is all it takes.

Free template vs. building it yourself — which is better?

If you are comfortable with spreadsheets, building from scratch lets you design exactly the categories you need. The process above takes around 20 minutes the first time.

If you want to start budgeting today without spending time on formatting, a ready-made template removes every setup step. You fill in your numbers and start.

Where can I get a free budget template for Google Sheets?

SheetReady offers a free Simple Monthly Money Tracker — no credit card, just your email. It is a clean, single-sheet tracker that covers income, expenses, and a running balance. Download the free Simple Money Tracker to start today.

If you want a full planner with budget-vs-actual comparisons, a savings rate calculation, and a colour-coded dashboard, you can start with the budget planner ($19) — it includes all of that in one file that works in both Google Sheets and Excel.

How do I track actual spending against my budget?

The simplest method is to update column C (actual spending) once a week as you go — not at the end of the month when you have forgotten half of it. You can pull figures from your bank's transaction history or your card statements.

If you want a faster approach, check your bank app each Sunday, categorise the week's transactions into your spreadsheet rows, and note any category where you are already close to the budget limit. Catching an overspend in week two leaves you time to adjust; catching it on the 31st does not.

Frequently asked questions about budgeting in Google Sheets