Apollo's Templates
HomeBudget Templates
Every dollar, given a job · Free downloads

Free Budget Templates

A budget is just a plan for money written down early enough to matter. These templates hold the plan in whichever shape your life actually takes — a monthly sheet with planned-versus-actual math, a paycheck planner for money that arrives every two weeks, a zero-based sheet that won't rest until every dollar has a job, the 50/30/20 rule with its targets computed for you, and life-event budgets for weddings, trips, semesters, and events. Excel and Google Sheets versions do all the arithmetic; the PDFs print blank for the fridge door.

The whole library

Every budget we make.

Start here

Six sheets, most of everyone.

Each card downloads the Excel version with the math working — or opens a Google Sheets copy in your own Drive. The blank printable PDF and editable Word versions live on every sheet's own page.

Monthly Budget

The flagship: grouped categories, planned vs actual vs difference, and a summary that computes what's left — savings rate included.

Paycheck Budget

Budget when the money lands: per-paycheck plans, a bill calendar that splits bills between checks, sinking funds.

Zero-Based Budget

Give every dollar a job — the LEFT TO BUDGET line computes live and your plan isn't done until it reads $0.00.

50/30/20 Budget

Enter take-home pay once and the needs/wants/savings targets set themselves — each bucket shows over or under.

Family Budget

Two-earner income block, kids' categories, and the month's LEFT OVER for the family meeting.

Wedding Budget

Typical-share guidance per category, deposits and balances tracked, cost per guest computed.
From the owner

Why these sheets are built the way they are.

“Budgeting apps monetize by watching your money. A spreadsheet doesn’t — which is why every sheet here ships with its formulas working, its cells unlocked, and no account between you and the download. The house rule: the arithmetic is the template’s job, so the ten minutes you give a budget go to decisions, not addition.”
— David, Apollo’s Templates

A few deliberate choices, so you don’t have to reverse-engineer them:

  • Planned / Actual / Difference on every sheet. A category list without the comparison is a wish, not a budget. Positive difference means under budget — the sign convention is printed on each sheet so nobody has to guess.
  • Savings is a category, not a leftover. The monthly sheet computes a savings rate, the 50/30/20 sheet reserves a bucket, and zero-based makes savings a “job” like rent — because what’s left over at month end is historically $0.
  • Cells stay blank until you type — a half-filled month never shows misleading totals.
  • Nothing is locked. Rename categories, add rows, change the ratios. The formulas keep working around you.

Tracking spending rather than planning it? That’s the other half of the workflow — our expense report templatesrecord where money actually went, and feed these sheets’ Actual columns.

Pick a method

The four budgeting methods, in one honest paragraph each.

Planned-versus-actual(the monthly sheet) is budgeting’s default for a reason: plan each category, record reality, learn from the gap. It fails only when the plan is fiction — so plan from last month’s statements, not from hope.

Zero-basedassigns every dollar of income a job until nothing is left to assign. It’s the strictest method and the best cure for money that evaporates — at the price of naming a number for everything, including fun.

Paycheck budgetingdrops the month entirely and plans each check as it lands, pairing a bill calendar with sinking funds. If you’re paid biweekly and the “month” never quite lines up with your bills, this is the one that finally fits.

50/30/20trades categories for three buckets — needs, wants, savings & debt — sized from take-home pay. Popularized by Elizabeth Warren’s All Your Worth, it’s the least paperwork that still counts as a plan; treat the ratios as a starting point, since high-rent cities routinely push needs past 50%.

Three ways to use them

Download, copy, or print.

  1. Excel: download the .xlsx, fill the Planned column, and the totals, differences, and LEFT OVER line calculate as you type.
  2. Google Sheets: click “Open in Google Sheets,” then Make a copy — the math comes with it, and two phones can share one budget.
  3. Paper: print the blank PDF from any sheet’s page and put it where the money decisions happen — the fridge outranks the filing cabinet.
Common questions

Budget template FAQ

What makes a good budget template?
Three columns, honestly: planned, actual, and the difference between them. A category list alone is a shopping list — the comparison is the budget. Beyond that, a good template computes its own totals (arithmetic errors kill budgets faster than overspending), groups categories so ten numbers summarize thirty rows, and shows one unmissable answer at the bottom: what's left. Every spreadsheet on this page follows that pattern; the differences between them are about how you get paid and what you're budgeting for.
Which budget template should I start with?
Paid monthly or just starting out: the monthly budget — it's the general-purpose tool. Paid every two weeks and living close to the checks: the paycheck budget, which plans each check instead of an abstract month. Money disappearing without explanation: zero-based, which forces every dollar to a named job. Want a rule instead of thirty categories: 50/30/20. There's no wrong door — they share the same math underneath, and switching later costs one download.
Are these budget templates really free?
Yes — every file downloads directly with no signup, no email wall, no watermark, and no locked 'pro' rows. The Excel versions include the working formulas; the Google Sheets buttons put a live copy in your own Drive; the PDFs print blank for a pen. We're a free template library, not a budgeting app hunting for subscriptions — there is nothing here to upgrade to.
Excel, Google Sheets, PDF, or paper — which format actually works?
The one you'll open twice a week, which is not a cop-out but the entire game. Spreadsheets win if you like the math done for you: totals, differences, and savings rate compute as you type. The Sheets copies win for couples — both phones edit the same budget. Paper wins for people who think with a pen; the planned/actual columns print just fine, and the PDF on the fridge gets seen daily in a way a file never is. Every template here ships in all four, so the format is a preference, not a commitment.
How do I budget with irregular income?
Two proven approaches, both supported here. The conservative one: budget on your lowest realistic month using the monthly or zero-based sheet, and treat anything above it as next month's income or extra savings. The per-payment one: use the paycheck budget and plan each payment as it lands — freelancers often find this the honest version, since it never pretends a 'typical month' exists. Either way, the sinking-funds sheet smooths the lumpy expenses that irregular income makes scary.

Free budget templates · Updated August 2026 · by David Nelsen — built for people who want the math done and the decisions left to them.

Nearby tools

The rest of the money paperwork.

Where the money went
Expense Report Templates
Track actual spending — reimbursements, mileage, receipts — and feed this section's Actual columns.
Open
Days across the top
Budget Calendar
The month as a calendar grid — categories down the side, days across, for people who think in dates.
Open
Where the money came from
Timesheet Templates
Hours, overtime, and gross pay — the income side of the household ledger.
Open