Template · Personal
Free budget tracker template with a spending chart
See where your money goes each month: list expenses with a category and amount, watch the total add up, tick what is paid, and let a donut chart show spending by category.
Budget
Month:
Income:
Savings goal:
Expenses
Expenses this month
| Item | Category | Amount | Date | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rent | Housing | $1,200.00 | ✓ | |
| Groceries | Food | $420.00 | ||
| Bus pass | Transport | $90.00 | ✓ | |
| Phone and internet | Bills | $110.00 | ||
| Concert | Fun | $65.00 | ||
| Sum $1,885.00 | Checked 2 |
- Housing $1,200.00
- Food $420.00
- Transport $90.00
- Fun $65.00
- Bills $110.00
Savings
Move the savings amount on payday
Notes
Free. Barside asks before it adds the template, then makes a new note from it. Needs Barside 1.50 or newer.
Nothing opened? Barside may not be installed yet. Download Barside, then choose Open in Barside again.
A budget is a plan for your money, and the first step is seeing it. This template turns a month of expenses into a total and a picture you can understand in seconds.
Who it is for
It is for anyone who wants to see their spending clearly: students, households, freelancers with irregular income, and couples planning together. Trips can have their own budget in the travel planner.
What is in the budget tracker template
- Month, Income and Savings goal: three lines at the top.
- Expenses this month: a table with Category, Amount, Date and Paid, with the total and the number paid at the bottom.
- Spending by category: a donut chart drawn from the table.
- Savings and Notes: a reminder to save on payday.
An example
Ines writes her income and a savings goal of $300. During the month she adds expenses: rent, groceries, a bus pass, phone and internet, and a concert. The total reaches $1,885, and the donut chart shows housing as the largest slice and fun as the smallest. At the end of the month she ticks what is paid, sees she spent $90 more on food than planned, and adds a meal plan to next month.
How to use the budget tracker template
- Choose Open in Barside above. Barside opens and asks before it adds anything.
- Pick the workspace for the note, and leave Keep it in my templates ticked to use the template again.
- Choose Create note. A new note called "Budget" opens, ready to fill in.
- Next time, start one from New note from a template, or let Barside make it on a schedule as a repeating note.
No Barside yet? It is free for Windows, Linux and Mac: download Barside, then choose Open in Barside again.
How to stick to a budget
- Pay yourself first: move savings on payday, before spending.
- Add expenses weekly, not daily. It is enough to stay on track.
- Check the donut chart at the end of the month and pick one category to cut.
- Look at your subscriptions: the subscription cost calculator adds them up.
Make it yours
- Change the categories to match your life.
- Make it a repeating note on the first day of each month.
- Add an Income table with a total for side income.
FAQ
Questions and answers
Can the table subtract expenses from income?
Barside tables total columns but do not run formulas. Compare the expenses total with your income line, or keep income as negative rows if you want one total.
Is the budget tracker template free?
Yes. The template and Barside are both free. Barside Plus is optional and adds cloud backup and sync between computers; templates do not need it.
Do I need an account to use it?
No. Barside runs on your computer without an account, and the notes you make from the template stay in your library on your computer.
Can I change the budget tracker template?
Yes. Edit the note it makes like any other note: rename columns, add rows, delete sections. To keep your version, open the note and choose Save as template in its options.