FintrekFree budget template and how to make a budget spreadsheet
Updated 27 October 2026
A budget spreadsheet is the simplest way to see where your money goes. Below: a free template you can download right now, and the six steps to build your own if you prefer to start from a blank sheet.
What a good budget template has
- Income and expenses on one page. You should see the month at a glance: what came in, what went out, what is left.
- Plan vs actual. A budget is a plan; the useful part is comparing it with what really happened, category by category.
- A short list of categories. Eight to twelve is enough: housing, groceries, eating out, transport, utilities, health, fun, savings, other. Too many categories and you stop filling it in.
- One row per transaction. Date, amount, category, a short note. Totals are calculated, never typed by hand.
- Room for more than one currency if you earn, save or travel in different currencies — with your own exchange rate, not a random one from the internet.
Download the free template
Our free multi-currency budget template does all of the above: a transactions sheet, categories with a monthly plan, plan vs actual, your own exchange rates and a one-page summary with charts. It works in Excel and Google Sheets, no sign-up needed.
How to make a budget spreadsheet in 6 steps
- Write down your monthly income. Use what actually lands in your account. If it varies, take the lowest month of the last three.
- List your fixed costs. Rent, utilities, phone, subscriptions, loan payments — things that are roughly the same every month.
- Set a plan for variable categories. Groceries, eating out, transport, fun. Look at last month's bank statement to start from reality, not from wishes.
- Create a transactions sheet. Columns: date, amount, currency, category, note. Add a drop-down list for categories so names stay consistent.
- Add totals with SUMIFS. For each category: the sum of transactions in that category this month. Next to it — the plan and the difference.
- Review once a week. Ten minutes: add anything you missed, look at the categories that are over plan, adjust next week.
If you have money in several currencies
Keep each transaction in the currency you actually paid in, and convert to one main currency only in the totals. Store the rate you really got (for example, at the exchange office) in a separate sheet and update it when you exchange money again. This way an exchange never looks like a loss or a windfall, and your past months do not change when rates move.
The weak spot of every spreadsheet
The template is not the hard part — remembering to fill it in is. Most budgets fail in week two because entering every coffee by hand takes effort. Two things help: record a purchase the moment you make it, and make recording take seconds.
That is exactly why we built Fintrek: you say or type “coffee 4.50” in Telegram, it shows what it understood, you confirm — and the record lands in the right category and currency. The monthly summary arrives on the 1st — and any time you can get this very template filled with your records, exchanges and debts included. Free, always.
Questions
Is there a free budget template for Google Sheets?
Yes. The Fintrek budget template opens in Google Sheets (File → Import) as well as in Excel. It is free and needs no sign-up.
Excel or Google Sheets — which is better for a budget?
Both work. Google Sheets is easier if you want to fill it in from your phone or share it with a partner; Excel works offline and handles large files better.
How many budget categories should I have?
Start with 8–12. You can always split a category later if it grows too big; merging many small ones is harder.
How often should I update my budget spreadsheet?
Record purchases as they happen if you can, and review the whole month once a week. A weekly ten-minute review is what makes a budget stick.