Make a simple monthly budget in a spreadsheet (15 minutes)

Works in Google Sheets, Excel or LibreOffice.

1. In column A, list your money coming in: salary, side jobs, anything regular.
2. Below that, list your fixed costs: rent, bills, phone, transport, subscriptions.
3. Then list the flexible costs: food, eating out, fun, clothes.
4. In column B, put the amount for each line.
5. Under the income lines, total them with =SUM(B2:B4) (change the range to match your rows). Do the same for costs.
6. In a cell near the top, type =income total cell - costs total cell. That's what's left at the end of the month.

If the number is negative, look at the flexible costs first. They're the easiest to change.

If it's positive, decide where it goes before the month starts: savings first, then the rest. Money without a plan tends to disappear.

Check it once a week for the first month. After that, once a month is enough.