How to balance a budget with a spreadsheet

balance a budget with a spreadsheet

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One of the most powerful uses for any spreadsheet program is the creation of a budget for your family or business. Using a spreadsheet to create a realistic budget can make the job a lot easier, and there are a number of tools individuals and business owners can use to balance their own budgets using a popular spreadsheet program.

Instructions

1. Using a Pre-Designed Budget Template

   • 1

     Log on to your computer and open your spreadsheet program. Open a new spreadsheet and save it to your hard drive or network share. Give the spreadsheet a descriptive name like "Budget Spreadsheet."

   • 2

     Look for a budget template that works with your spreadsheet program. Microsoft has a number of budget spreadsheets available for all versions of Microsoft Excel, while other spreadsheet software programs have templates available. Many budget templates are completely free.

   • 3

     Gather all of your income and expense information and plug it into the template. Be sure to enter all of the information you have, both projected income and expenses and actual numbers. A good budget template will include calculations for the variance between your projections and your actual experience.

   • 4

     Continue to update your budget spreadsheet as new information comes in. It is important to keep your spreadsheet up to date in order to make it useful and ensure the budget you have created continues to meet your needs.

   Create Your Own Budget Template

   • 5

     Create your own budget template if one is not available. To get started, open a new spreadsheet and give it a descriptive name.

   • 6

     Place each of your expenses on a separate line with the expense description in one column, the projected amount in a second column and the actual amount in a third.

   • 7

     Add a fourth column to calculate the difference between the two by typing "+B2-B3," assuming that cell B2 contains the projected expense and cell B3 contains the actual expense.

   • 8

     Continue to update your budget spreadsheet as new information comes in. It is important to keep your spreadsheet up to date in order to make it useful and ensure the budget you have created continues to meet your needs.

Source: www.ehow.com

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