I created my own budgeting spreadsheet since I know my way around Google Sheets pretty well. It does what I need it to do but I know it could be better. I want to check out what other people are using so I can improve mine and maybe learn some new tricks. What templates have worked well for you? I’m looking for something that can help me take my current setup to the next level.
I’ve been using the Personal Capital inspired template for advanced tracking - found it on one of the personal finance subreddits. What hooked me was how it combines net worth tracking with monthly budgeting. The cash flow projections were a game changer - now I can’t budget without seeing how my choices impact the next 3-6 months. There’s also a solid envelope budgeting template that’s basically the old school method with modern automation. The way it handles irregular stuff like car maintenance or holiday spending might spark some ideas for your setup. Plus the formulas in there taught me how to actually build sinking funds properly.
the mint template from reddit is awesome for keeping track monthly. i’ve been using it for about 6 months now and it has some cool formulas i never thought of. def worth checking out if you wanna get ideas for categories and rollover budgets.
I went through this exact same thing last year when my basic tracking sheet wasn’t cutting it anymore. Google Sheets has a solid monthly budget tracker in their template gallery - the debt payoff calculations really helped me get my payments organized. But honestly, the Vertex42 template was a game changer. It’s got this smart color-coding that shows when you’re over or under budget, plus the formulas taught me how to set up automatic variance tracking I’d never thought of. You should also grab that YNAB-style zero-based template that’s all over the finance forums. Even if you don’t do zero-based budgeting, their income allocation setup across different pay periods might spark some ideas for your current sheet.