This free household budget form is simple to use and can help you create a manageable budget that will allow you to get out of debt and realize your financial goals. It allows for the automatic calculation of totals and financial ratios to help you track success.
According to recent surveys conducted by both Princeton Survey Research Associates International and the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, more than 50% of American adults do not follow a budget or track expenditures.
One of the keys to financial relief is learning to live within your means, but how can you do that if you don’t know where your money is going? Without a budget, the “miscellaneous” items can really add up, and at the end of the month, you are left wondering how or why your money has disappeared.
This free household budget form is a great tool to help you see where you are now, identify where you can make changes, and then create a budget that you can work with.
There are 3 sections to the form: Income, Expenses, and Ratio.
Income: The first step to creating a budget is knowing how much money you have to work with. This includes your Net income or “take home” pay as well as any money from other sources.
Expenses: Record ALL monthly expenditures. It is the little things that can often eat away at your budget, so include your morning Starbucks and your movie rentals in the “entertainment” or “allowances” section of your form. There is also a place at the end for you to add any other items that are not already listed in previous sections.
The section titled “other secured debt” would include any secured loans besides your mortgage and car payment, as these are already recorded in prior sections. “Unsecured debt” would include such things as credit cards, fuel cards, medical bills, or taxes. You want your “income less expenses” to be a positive number so that you have extra for savings, investments, or emergencies. If you achieve this, then congratulations! You have a balanced budget.
Ratio: Once you have entered your income and expenses, the free household budget form calculator will determine your Debt/Income Ratio. Ideally, this figure should be less than 40%.
Then, get a better idea of how your income is being allocated with the Budgeting Guidelines section. This outlines the recommended percentage for each major area of expenditures and then calculates the dollar amount of your income that can be used to stay within these guidelines, as well as the amount you are actually spending. This way, you can see what areas exceed the suggested amount and where you need to work on making cut-backs.
How to Use the Free Household Budget Form Calculator
Click on the text in the light green boxes to expand and complete each section. Once you finish filling in the fields, you can click on the next light green section you want to complete and the prior one will close. Or, you can click the Print View button at the bottom of the page to expand all items and then scroll down to fill in everything you need to enter.
The totals and ratios will be calculated automatically as you enter data. There are also blanks in each “expense” section so you can enter items that may not already be included in the form.
Using our free household budget form requires your browser to be JavaScript enabled. This is usually preset for you so you should have no problems. However, if you have set JavaScript to be off, please change your browser settings (under Preferences or Options) to allow JavaScript.
Once you complete this free household budget form, do check out credit counseling or debt settlement options to help you get back on track quickly.
Monthly Income
| Total of all Net Income | $– |
Monthly Expenses
| Total of all Expenses | $– |
| Income Less Expenses (this should be your Savings/Investments) | $– |
Financial Budget Ratios used for debt relief
| Debt Income Ratios |
| a. Total Net Monthly Income | $– | |
| b. Monthly Mortgage Payments | $– | |
| c. Other Monthly Secured Debt | $– | |
| d. Unsecured Monthly Debt | $– | |
| Basic Debt Income Ratio | –% | |
| Total Debt Income Ratio | –% |
| Recommended Budgeting Guidelines | Recommended | Income Distribution | Actual Distribution | Your Budget Percentage |
| Housing | 35% | $– | $– | –% |
| Transportation | 20% | $– | $– | –% |
| Debt Payments | 15% | $– | $– | –% |
| Other Expenses | 20% | $– | $– | –% |
| Investments & Savings | 10% | $– | $– | –% |
Learn More About:
Using Debt Income Ratios In Debt Management
The Financial Community’s Recommended Budgeting Guidelines
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