prepare a family budget excel spreadsheet
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Raising a family is expensive and requires financial planning. Figuring out where all your money goes throughout the month and making plans for next month’-s budget is crucial, but many people don’-t know how. Creating a family budget is easy when you use an electronic spreadsheet application -- such as Microsoft Excel -- that tracks your family’-s finances in one place. These budget spreadsheets feature built-in formulas that do all the math required, so anyone can prepare a family budget fairly quickly.
Things You'll Need
- Financial records
Instructions
1
Gather financial records for your entire family. Separate income and expense records into two piles.
2
Open Microsoft Excel. Click on the “-Office Button”- or “-File”- on older versions. Select “-New.”- Scroll down the template list and click on “-Budgets.”- Select “-Home Budgets.”-
3
Narrow your search by disregarding templates not created specifically for families or households, such as templates titled “-Personal,”- “-Wedding”- and “-College.”- Find a budget template that best fits your family’-s needs. Click “-Download”- or “-Open.”-
4
Check the spreadsheet layout to ensure there are categories that cover your family’-s incomes and expenses.
5
Highlight the category name and type in your new name to rename it. Right-click on a row’-s number and select “-Insert”- to add new categories or select “-Delete”- to remove categories as needed. Keep all new categories added above the total section. This ensures the new category is included in the total formula.
6
Use your family’-s financial records to fill in the budget spreadsheet’-s cells for both income and expenses. Use your mouse or the “-Tab”- key to move from cell to cell and the “-Undo”- arrow to make corrections. Replace any figures previously on the templates with your figures and leave any unused categories blank.
7
Notice the total amounts throughout the spreadsheet changing as you type in your family’-s income and expenses. Determine what modifications, if any, are needed for your family’-s budget for the next month. Plan what to do with excessive income, such as setting up a savings account. Decide what expenses your family can do without if your monthly total is negative.
8
Click the “-Office Button”- or “-File”- on older versions. Select “-Save,”- name the file and click “-Save”- again.
Tips &- Warnings
Always round up when estimating your monthly family budget
Get your excel spreadsheet completed first and list as many as you can think of under miscellaneous before writing your own expenses in.
Divide your family budget spreadsheets in 2 if paid bi-weekly or 4 if every week to help determine your monthly payment schedules
Always include an excel category under miscellaneous expenses for emergencies and decide how much your family can free up each week to add to this fund
Tags: your family, family 8217-s, family budget, your family 8217-s, excel spreadsheetSource: www.ehow.com
