Things You'll Need:
- Computer
- Spreadsheet Software
- Home budget records
- printer
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Step 1
First divide your budget template into seven columns for tracking home expenses.
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Step 2
Label the home budget tracking columns as follows: 1. Home Budget Expense 2. Projected Use 3. Projected Amount 4. Budget Priority 5. Actual Use 6. Actual Amount 7. Total Savings
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Step 3
Choose a home budget tracking schedule for your template such as daily, weekly, bi weekly or monthly.
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Step 4
List all your home budget expenses under the budget expense columns tracking fixed bills first, then home expense needs, then personal needs and last discretionary spending. For example eating lunches out would be considered discretionary spending.
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Step 5
List an estimate of how often you pay the expense in your home or buy the item in your Projected Use column. For example you estimate you will eat lunch out 3 times a week or 12 times a month depending on the tracking schedule for your budget template.
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Step 6
Next estimate the dollar amount you spend on this budget expense item under your Projected Amount column within your given tracking schedule. You estimate spending $20.00 per week on lunches away from home for example.
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Step 7
Then assign a priority to the budget item according to how important it is to you. A priority of 1 means you cant do without it, a 2 you must have but can cut back, and a 3 you can eliminate it completely.
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Step 8
Now track how many times you actually paid the expense in your Actual Use column of your budget template. For example you actually went to lunch 2 times that week, etc.
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Step 9
Then write in how much you spent on the item in the given tracking period. You actually spent $17.50 on lunches away from home that week for example.
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Step 10
Now subtract your actual home budget amount from your projected to get your positive or negative savings balance and list it in the Total Savings column of your tracking template.
