Example Budget

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This is an example budget created using Excel. Below I include how to make some simple formulas to make your budget useful.To make a "total", in the cell type " =sum( " and then select the columns that you want to total by dragging over the cells. You will see the cell names be added to the equation.



To make a "difference", in the cell type "=" and then select the cell and then type "-" and select the second cell you want it to subtract from. In the example below I want the Budget Total $300 to subtract from the Actual Total $284. So I type "=", select the cell that has $300, type "-", select the cell that has $284, and then hit "enter".

After completing the two previous steps, you should now have a number in under the "Difference" column. It will indicate automatically if you have a positive or negative difference. Positive would indicate that you have money to spare in that category. A negative number would indicate that you have overspent in that category. There are different ways to show a negative number, like having the color change.

The example below shows a negative difference in the bottom right column.