develop your budget

These forms were created for you to use to develop a solid financial plan (budget) so you can achieve your financial goals.  There are 3 forms included in this process.  They are designed to be used in order from 1 to 3 as listed below.

1. Tracking by Category form - use it to track expenses for 30 days.

2. Creating Your Budget form - use it to create your yearly budget.

3. The Yearly Plan - use it to manage your income and expenses from now on.

Note: The forms used in steps 1 and 2 are designed to lead you to the form in step 3.  The Yearly Plan is the only form you'll need after completing this process.  

STEP 1

The Tracking by Category form was created to help you track your income and expenses for 30 days, a months worth of financial information.  Once you have this information you will use it to create a budget using the Creating Your Budget form.  

Note: It is recommended you print this form and fill it out manually.  This will help you develop the habit of tracking expenses and make you more aware of your spending. Using a physical form (pen and paper) has proven to be more effective in raising the awareness of where and how money is spent.  This is extremely helpful in creating a budget that is more accurate and more likely to succeed.

An electronic version of the tracking form is also available for download.

STEP 2

The Creating Your Budget form is a step-by-step guide to creating a zero-based budget.  It is not the budget itself, it's the tool you'll use to create your budget.  A Spending Guideline is included to help you benchmark your budget based on income level and family type.  Once you've created your budget with this form you'll transfer the budget to the next form in this process, The Yearly Budget.

STEP 3

The Yearly Budget from was created to help you manage your finances.  It is a comprehensive plan that will allow you to fully manage all your income and expenses for an entire year.  Designed for individuals and families it provides a set of common categories and the flexibility of adding some additional more specific categories of your own.