Real-World Use: Monthly Budget Tracker in Google Sheets

Managing your monthly budget doesn’t require expensive software or complicated apps. With Google Sheets, you can easily track your income, expenses, and savings goals all in one place. This tutorial walks you through building a practical monthly budget tracker from scratch.

📌 Why Use Google Sheets for Budget Tracking?

• ✅ Free to use and cloud-based
• ✅ Easy sharing with family or partners
• ✅ Customizable to suit your needs
• ✅ Integrates with bank data and receipts (via import or add-ons)

📋 Step-by-Step: Building Your Budget Tracker

1. Open a new Google Sheet and title it "Monthly Budget Tracker".
2. Create the following columns:
   • Date
   • Category
   • Description
   • Amount
   • Type (Income/Expense)
3. Use Data Validation for the "Type" column to allow only "Income" or "Expense".
4. Apply SUMIFS formulas to total income and expenses separately.
5. Calculate Monthly Balance = Total Income - Total Expenses.

💡 Example Formulae

=SUMIFS(D2:D, E2:E, "Income")    → Total Income
=SUMIFS(D2:D, E2:E, "Expense")   → Total Expenses
=B1-B2                            → Net Balance

🎨 Optional Features to Enhance Tracker

• 📊 Pie Chart of spending by category
• 📆 Monthly filter using drop-down menu
• ⚠️ Conditional formatting for overspending alerts
• 📎 Receipt link column for uploaded receipts (Google Drive)

📄 Download Budget Tracker Template

Download the Monthly Budget Tracker Google Sheets Template (PDF)

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Tags: google sheets budget tracker, monthly expense tracking, personal finance, google sheets templates, budgeting spreadsheet free