We will only feel defeated if we set our numbers so low that we can’t possibly reach them and find ourselves overspending each month. It’s important to be realistic when setting budgeting goals for our variable expenses categories. You can grab our cash envelopes or variable expense tracking sheets in our free printable Budget Binder to help with that. It may be helpful to keep a record of our variable expenses throughout the month to make sure we’re staying within our budgeted amount. To get an idea of how much we should budget for each of these categories, again, we can look at past bank statements. Variable expenses can get a little trickier because they can fluctuate quite a bit. Recurring expenses are pretty straightforward because they are mostly the same every month. To figure out how much to budget for each item, look at your past bank statements to get an idea of how much you’ll owe.

Utilities (gas, water, electric, sewer, etc.)Īnything that has the same general payment each month can go in the recurring category.

Some of the items in the recurring expenses section may be: Recurring expenses are our bills, payments that are generally the same every month. But if you happen to have a great month and net $1000 from your side hustle instead, you would write that in the “Actual” column and note the difference of +$500.

So let’s say you have a side hustle that generally nets $500 per month.

In the income section, as well as the other sections of this worksheet, there is a spot to write the budgeted amount as well as the actual amount.

Free simple budget worksheet