Template · Budgeting
Annual budget planner, month by month
Twelve months of planned income and spending, with net and cumulative savings and a year-to-date tab.
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XLSXCSVODSXMLNumbers| Annual budget planner, month by month | |||||||||||
| Example data — replace the blue input cells with your own. | |||||||||||
| First month of the plan | Jan 2026 | Example plan for 2026. Enter actual amounts on the Actuals tab. | |||||||||
| Month number | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| Line item | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov |
| Income | |||||||||||
| Take-home pay | $4,900 | $4,900 | $4,900 | $4,900 | $4,900 | $4,900 | $4,900 | $4,900 | $4,900 | $4,900 | $4,900 |
| Side income and bonuses | $300 | $300 | $300 | $300 | $300 | $300 | $300 | $300 | $300 | $300 | $300 |
| Total income | $5,200 | $5,200 | $5,200 | $5,200 | $5,200 | $5,200 | $5,200 | $5,200 | $5,200 | $5,200 | $5,200 |
| Expenses | |||||||||||
| Housing | $1,650 | $1,650 | $1,650 | $1,650 | $1,650 | $1,650 | $1,650 | $1,650 | $1,650 | $1,650 | $1,650 |
| Utilities | $260 | $265 | $240 | $220 | $200 | $190 | $205 | $210 | $220 | $230 | $250 |
| Groceries | $610 | $585 | $640 | $600 | $620 | $590 | $610 | $605 | $630 | $600 | $660 |
| Transportation | $380 | $380 | $380 | $380 | $380 | $380 | $380 | $380 | $380 | $380 | $380 |
| Insurance | $290 | $290 | $290 | $290 | $290 | $290 | $290 | $290 | $290 | $290 | $290 |
Showing the first 16 of 30 rows and 12 of 15 columns. Cells with formulas show the formula on hover.
| Actual income and spending, month by month | |||||||||||
| Enter actual amounts as each month closes. Months with no entries stay blank and are left out of the totals. | |||||||||||
| First month of the plan | Jan 2026 | ||||||||||
| Month number | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| Line item | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov |
| Income | |||||||||||
| Take-home pay | $4,900 | $4,900 | $4,900 | $4,900 | $4,900 | $4,900 | $4,900 | $4,900 | $4,900 | ||
| Side income and bonuses | $300 | $250 | $300 | $300 | $320 | $300 | $280 | $300 | $300 | ||
| Total income | $5,200 | $5,150 | $5,200 | $5,200 | $5,220 | $5,200 | $5,180 | $5,200 | $5,200 | ||
| Expenses | |||||||||||
| Housing | $1,650 | $1,650 | $1,650 | $1,650 | $1,650 | $1,650 | $1,650 | $1,650 | $1,650 | ||
| Utilities | $271 | $259 | $244 | $226 | $198 | $188 | $214 | $219 | $228 | ||
| Groceries | $640 | $612 | $652 | $598 | $636 | $601 | $625 | $618 | $648 | ||
| Transportation | $372 | $401 | $380 | $355 | $410 | $388 | $376 | $391 | $366 | ||
| Insurance | $290 | $290 | $290 | $290 | $290 | $290 | $290 | $290 | $290 |
Showing the first 16 of 30 rows and 12 of 14 columns. Cells with formulas show the formula on hover.
| Year to date: budget against actual | ||||||
| Compares the plan with actual amounts for the months you have completed. Change the month count to move the period. | ||||||
| Months completed (1 to 12) | 9 | |||||
| Year to date through | Sep 2026 | |||||
| Line item | Budget YTD | Actual YTD | Difference (+ favorable) | Used (actual divided by budget) | Full-year budget | Left in full-year budget |
| Income | ||||||
| Take-home pay | $44,100 | $44,100 | $0 | $58,800 | ||
| Side income and bonuses | $2,700 | $2,650 | -$50 | $4,400 | ||
| Total income | $46,800 | $46,750 | -$50 | $63,200 | ||
| Expenses | ||||||
| Housing | $14,850 | $14,850 | $0 | 100% | $19,800 | $4,950 |
| Utilities | $2,010 | $2,047 | -$37 | 102% | $2,760 | $713 |
| Groceries | $5,490 | $5,630 | -$140 | 103% | $7,470 | $1,840 |
| Transportation | $3,420 | $3,439 | -$19 | 101% | $4,560 | $1,121 |
Showing the first 16 of 30 rows and 7 of 7 columns. Cells with formulas show the formula on hover.
| Annual budget planner, month by month |
| Notes: what this workbook does, how to use it and the method behind it. |
| What it does |
| A twelve-month budget for income and expenses. The Plan tab holds the monthly budget and the running savings. The Actuals tab records what happened, and the YTD tab compares the two for the months you have completed. |
| How to use it |
| 1. On the Plan tab, set the first month of the plan and enter the planned amount for every income and expense line in every month. |
| 2. Read net savings and cumulative savings for each month, and the savings rate, in the rows at the bottom of the Plan tab. |
| 3. As each month closes, enter the actual amounts on the Actuals tab. Leave future months blank. |
| 4. On the YTD tab, set Months completed to the number of months with actuals. Read budget, actual, difference and the share of budget used for each line. |
| Formulas and method |
| Net savings = total income minus total expenses for the month. Cumulative net savings = running total of net savings from the first month. |
| Savings rate = net savings divided by total income. Year total is the sum of the twelve months; monthly average is the year total divided by 12. |
| Actuals: a total is shown only when at least one line has an entry for that month. Net savings and cumulative savings stay blank for months without entries. |
Showing the first 16 of 30 rows and 1 of 1 columns. Cells with formulas show the formula on hover.
What does this template do?
A planning sheet for a full year of income and spending. The Plan tab sets a budget for every line in every month, then calculates total income, total expenses, net savings for each month, cumulative savings across the year and the savings rate. Year totals and monthly averages sit beside each row.
The Actuals tab uses the same layout for real figures. Months with no entries stay blank and are left out of the totals, so the sheet works as the year unfolds. The YTD tab compares budget and actual for the months you have completed, shows how much of each line's budget is used, and shows what remains of the full-year budget.
The example is a fictional household plan for 2026, with nine months of actuals. The plan has no tax calculation and no investment growth. Annual bills need to be entered in the month they are due.
What’s inside
- Twelve monthly columns with year totals and monthly averages
- Net savings and cumulative savings for each month, with the savings rate
- Actuals tab with the same layout, and blank months left out of the totals
- YTD tab with budget, actual, difference and the share of budget used
- Left in the full-year budget for each expense line
Which tabs does the workbook have?
| Tab | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Plan | The monthly budget: income, expenses, net savings, cumulative savings and savings rate for the year. |
| Actuals | The same layout for actual amounts, with blank months left out of the totals. |
| YTD | Budget against actual for the months completed, with the share of budget used and the full-year balance. |
| Notes | Purpose, steps, formulas used, assumptions and limits. |
What formulas does this template use?
This template holds 321 formulas in 764 cells across 4 tabs, so 42% of its cells calculate. They use 6 distinct functions; the longest formula is 50 characters and 77 of them read from another tab.
| Function | Uses | What it does |
|---|---|---|
SUM | 103 | adds numbers |
IF | 102 | one result when a test is true, another when false |
SUMIF | 32 | adds values meeting one condition |
COUNT | 24 | counts numeric cells |
OR | 24 | true when any test is true |
EDATE | 13 | same day, months later |
Counted from the workbook itself. Only functions that Excel, LibreOffice Calc, Google Sheets and Apple Numbers evaluate the same way are used, so the formulas survive every download format.
How do you use it?
- On the Plan tab, set the first month and enter the planned amount for each line in each month.
- Read net savings, cumulative savings and the savings rate in the rows below the expenses.
- As each month closes, enter the actual amounts on the Actuals tab.
- On the YTD tab, set the number of completed months to compare budget and actual.
What is it good for?
- Setting a yearly spending plan with monthly detail
- Tracking how much of each budget line is used year to date
- Seeing when cumulative savings build up across the year
- Planning seasonal costs such as holidays and car service
Questions about this sheet
How are net and cumulative savings calculated?
Net savings for a month is total income minus total expenses. Cumulative savings is the running total of net savings from the first month of the plan.
What happens to months with no actuals?
They stay blank. Totals, net savings and cumulative savings ignore those months, so the actual columns fill in as you go.
Why does the YTD tab show a lower actual than I expect?
It counts only the months you mark as completed, and a month with no entries counts as zero. Check the month count and the Actuals entries.
Can I track an annual bill?
Yes. Enter the bill in the month it is due. The planner does not spread it across the year, so that month shows the full amount.