I’ve been creating my own monthly budget spreadsheet in Google Sheets for a while now. My Excel and Sheets skills are pretty decent, so I managed to build something that does the job. But honestly, I know it could be way better.
I’m looking for some solid budget templates that other people actually use and recommend. I want to see how others structure their monthly budgets, what formulas they use, and maybe pick up some new techniques. My current setup tracks income and expenses okay, but I feel like I’m missing out on some advanced features that could make budgeting easier.
Anyone have templates they swear by? I’m hoping to learn from what’s already working well for others and maybe upgrade my own system.
the mint template from google’s gallery is solid if u haven’t tried it. it’s got nice automation for categorizing transactions and the charts update automatically. not perfect, but it’s a good starting point you can customize.
Been through this exact struggle. After tweaking my own sheets for years, I found envelope budgeting templates work incredibly well for monthly tracking. Simple concept but powerful - you put specific amounts into virtual envelopes for rent, groceries, entertainment, etc. What makes it better is the running balance that shows exactly what’s left in each envelope throughout the month. My template has this clever setup where overspending flags red, and you have to consciously move money from another envelope to cover it. Forces real decisions about priorities instead of just blowing your budget. The monthly rollover is brilliant too - leftover grocery money rolls into next month or goes straight to savings. Way more realistic than rigid monthly limits that reset to zero.
I’ve been using that 50/30/20 budget template from Google Sheets - there are tons of versions floating around. What I love about it is how the percentages automatically recalculate when your income changes. It splits everything into needs, wants, and savings, plus it has conditional formatting that turns red when you go over budget. The best feature? Rollover tracking for stuff like groceries and gas. Instead of hard monthly limits, it shows if you’re over or under for the whole quarter. Way more flexible but still keeps you disciplined. I added my own twist - a separate tab for irregular expenses like car repairs or holiday spending. The original template sucked at handling these. I just put in annual averages broken down monthly, and the formulas pull from that tab automatically. Makes your monthly budget way more realistic.
Templates work for starting out, but they’ve got the same issue - you’re still manually entering data and updating categories monthly.
I used to play around with different Google Sheets templates. Real game changer was automating everything. My budget now updates itself by pulling data straight from bank accounts, credit cards, and other sources.
Skip copying templates and tweaking formulas. Set up automated workflows that categorize transactions, calculate totals, and alert you when you’re over budget. Data flows into your sheets without lifting a finger.
This beats static templates since it actually works in the background. You get real-time insights instead of outdated numbers from your last manual update.
Check out Latenode - it connects all your financial accounts to Google Sheets automatically: https://latenode.com