How to Create a Budget in Excel
If you have a hard time keeping track of all your monthly bills, you can use Microsoft Excel to get organized and get those expenses under control.
Up next in How to Use Computer Software (38 videos)
Learn how to use computer software, like how to get zip files, with this Howcast video series.
You Will Need
- Microsoft Excel
- Bills
Steps
-
Step 1
Open a new sheet
Open Excel. The program automatically opens to a new spreadsheet.
-
Step 2
Fill in columns
Label columns A to D in row 1 with the following headers: bills name, due date, total balance, and monthly payment amount. Enter the information from your first bill in row 2, filling out all four columns. Continue typing the information for all your bills, one in each row, placing them in order of date due.
-
You can further break down your budget by grouping like expenses together: household and fixed payments on top and credit card bills at the bottom. Each group should be sorted in order of due date.
-
Step 3
Total the expenses
Total all the "monthly payment expenses" in column D. Skip a few rows beneath the bills and type "Total" in column A. In this same row, but in column D, calculate the grand total of all your bills for the month.
-
Total your figures by using Excel's calculation tool. Type SUM equals; then highlight the cells you want added together. Make sure the cell numbers are in parentheses.
-
Step 4
Type your income
Type your monthly income amount in the row beneath the monthly total amount due in column D. Label this row "Monthly income" in the same row, but in column A.
-
For easy identification, shade your outgoing expenses and your income in different colors by going to Borders and Shading in the Format tab.
-
Step 5
Calculate
Subtract your total amount due every month from your total monthly income. This is the amount you have left for fun money or to put into savings.
-
Step 6
Keep up the good work
Continue adding to your spreadsheet every month. To add further detail, make a note of how much you spend on non-bill payments throughout the month, such as groceries and entertainment, and add new rows for these expenditures. Add a column with the next month as the header and fill in all the rows. Soon you will be able to see where the majority of your money is being spent.
-
In 2008, Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, stole Bill Gates's title as the youngest self-made billionaire at just 23 years of age. Bill Gates won the title in 1987 at the age of 31.
