List income and expenses; the template totals them, shows what is left, and downloads as a CSV your spreadsheet app can open.
A budget spreadsheet does its job when three numbers are unmissable: what comes in, what goes out, and what is left, because the leftover is the only number that decides whether savings happen. This template computes them from simple name-and-amount lines and produces two artifacts: the on-screen summary (including each expense's share of income, which instantly exposes the categories that dominate) and a CSV file that opens directly in Excel, Google Sheets or LibreOffice for anyone who wants to keep and extend the budget there.
The starter lines are examples only, replace them with your real figures, ideally from last month's statements rather than intentions. A budget built from intentions flatters; a budget built from statements instructs. The classic follow-up is the 50/30/20 sanity check, roughly half of income on needs, a third on wants, a fifth on savings and debt payoff, not as a law, but as a mirror: if needs are consuming 75%, the problem is structural (housing, transport), not lattes.
How do I open the CSV? Double-click it, Excel, Sheets and LibreOffice all open CSV directly. In Google Sheets: File, Import, Upload. The template's columns and totals come across as editable cells.
Should irregular expenses be included? Yes, divide annual costs (insurance, registration, holidays) by 12 and list the monthly share. Irregular is not optional; it is just scheduled differently.
What if the leftover is negative? Then the budget has done its most valuable job: showing it on paper before the bank does. Cut from the largest discretionary share first, small cuts to big categories beat eliminating small joys.