This multi-page printable budget planner template has everything you need to track your spending and expenses and start working toward your financial goals!
When it comes to creating and maintaining a household budget, you’ve got a lot of different options. There are more “analog” methods, like this pen to paper monthly budget planner template, there are spreadsheets ranging from simple to complex, and then there are of course, online applications and software services. None of them are wrong.
Oh, wait, actually, there is one wrong way to budget….
According to Rutgers, 18% of Americans that have a household budget keep said budget in their head. 🤦♀️ Please don’t do this. I would be willing to bet that there is already enough information rattling around in your brain—birthdays, doctors appointments, forgotten grocery store items. A printable monthly budget planner is a much easier (and less error prone) option!
Psst! Not sure how to even get started? Read How to Make a Budget!
Printable Monthly Budget Planner Template
While you can use online options, personally, I’m a fan of printable monthly budget planners (like this one) because:
- They don’t require cell service, Internet connection, or a charged battery.
- A monthly planner with budget pages is super portable.
- Writing things by hand helps you remember them better. A Psychology Today article reads, “Analog notebook use activates multiple brain regions associated with optimal memory-encoding (and subsequent retrieval) more robustly than using digital devices, the researchers found.”
- While not a free printable monthly budget planner, this analog option is very frugal and doesn’t come with reoccurring charges.
This frugal (not free) printable monthly budget planner is broken up into four pages, which gives you a very granular view of your income, expenses, and financial goals. Being this detailed may seem like a bit of a pain, especially if you’re the one tasked with tracking all of this stuff, but trust me, it’s worth it. Getting into the weeds, so to speak, on your spending will help you spot price increases and find areas in which you can curb spending, if needed.
Here’s an overview of each page in the monthly budget planner template:
- Page one – Get started by entering your income. Then immediately start tracking expenses related to your home and utilities. Notice how this modern monthly planner with budget pages includes a host of streaming services under utilities.
- Page two – Dive into household expenses like cleaning supplies and even pest control before moving on to food, transportation, insurance, and debt-related costs.
- Page three – Track your spending on family expenses like child care as well as costs related to personal care, entertainment, and even pets. The pet section breaks things down into food and care related expenses. It can be helpful to set aside money in advance for care, sort of like a pet emergency fund!
- Page four – Now that you’ve documented all of your expenses, it’s time to start dreaming! The last page of the frugal (not free) monthly budget planner is where you can track progress toward achieving financial goals like retirement.
As already mentioned, there are a lot of different options for budgeting. Even if you decide that you want to use a frugal or free printable monthly budget planner there are about a million different templates of varying complexity to choose from.
It’s all about finding what works best for you and your family, and that may take some experimenting. Don’t be afraid to try out different templates, and to move on if one isn’t working. Here are some other options to explore:
- Free Printable Budget Worksheets – This monthly planner with budget pages also has Excel files if you prefer a digital approach.
- Free DIY Budget Binder Printables – In addition to a budget printable, this includes specific pages to define financial goals and to assess your progress in-depth.
- Free Household Budget Worksheet – PDF & Excel Printable – Here you’ll find a round up of budgeting printables, tips, tricks, and tools.
- Monthly Budget Worksheets (2 Pages) – This printable provides a more condensed view, but it doesn’t offer space to track the difference between what you budgeted and what you actually spent.
- Household Budget Worksheets (3 Pages) – This template is mostly blank, which means you can customize it to your specific expenses.
- Free Family Budget Template Printables – More free budget templates!
- Budget Tracker
- Money Tracker
While this monthly budget planner template is perfect for tracking standard monthly expenses, you may want special budget templates for specific events or holidays. There are also templates that are customized to help you dive deep on certain expenses, such as food. Here are some printable templates that are more specific:
- Free Printable Wedding Budget Planner Worksheet
- Grocery Budget
- Wedding Budget Checklist
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