How to use the tracker
- Name the lines and plan. Write the month in the Month box at the top right. The category lines are blank, so write a name on each one that is needed, then fill the Planned column. Start with income, because every other number depends on it.
- Balance the plan. Add up the Planned column of each block, then subtract the fixed, variable and savings totals from income. The sheet has no total line inside the blocks, so this sum goes in a margin or on the back. If the result is below zero, lower a planned amount until it is not.
- Write what really happened. Fill the Actual column from bank and card statements, once a week or at month end. Rounding to the nearest dollar keeps the sums quick and fits the short dollar lines.
- Fill the Month summary. Add up the Actual column of each block and write the results in the Total income, Total fixed, Total variable and Total savings boxes. Income minus the other three goes in the Left over box.
What goes in each block
Nothing is pre-printed on the category lines, so each household writes its own. The examples below are common ways to fill them.
Income has 5 lines. It is take-home pay: what lands in the account after tax, CPP or QPP and EI. Typical lines are one per paycheque, benefits and credits, and other income. For an hourly job, the hourly to salary calculator turns a wage and weekly hours into a monthly figure to plan from.
Fixed expenses has 8 lines for the bills that barely move: rent or mortgage, hydro and heat, phone and internet, insurance, transit or a car payment, and minimum debt payments. Anyone listing several debts can track each balance separately on the debt snowball tracker.
Variable expenses has 8 lines for spending that changes with daily choices: groceries, eating out, gas, household, personal and fun. That leaves a couple of lines for anything else, such as pets or child care.
Savings has 4 lines, enough for an emergency fund, TFSA, RRSP or FHSA contributions and a sinking fund for known future costs such as car repairs or holiday gifts. The emergency fund calculator works out a target from monthly essentials, which gives the first line a number to aim at.
A worked example
The figures below are hypothetical, chosen only to show the sum. The sheet’s Month summary has one set of boxes, so the Planned row here is the margin sum from step 2 and the Actual row is what goes in the boxes at month end.
| Income | Fixed | Variable | Savings | Left over | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planned | $4,200 | $2,150 | $1,100 | $600 | $350 |
| Actual | $4,200 | $2,150 | $1,290 | $600 | $160 |
Planned: $4,200 − $2,150 − $1,100 − $600 = $350. Actual: $4,200 − $2,150 − $1,290 − $600 = $160.
Left over came in $190 lower than planned, and the whole gap sits in one block: variable spending was $1,290 against a plan of $1,100. That points next month’s attention at groceries, eating out and fun, not at rent or the phone bill.
What a budget sheet can and cannot do
A paper tracker records and compares. It does not move money, and it will not flag a missed bill. Its value is the monthly comparison: after two or three sheets, the Actual column shows what a normal month costs, which is a better basis for the next plan than a guess.
The sums can be checked on screen with the budget calculator for Canada, which takes the same income and expense lines and shows the money left over and the savings rate. Households that want automatic tracking can compare budgeting apps that work with Canadian bank accounts.
When the Left over figure is zero, every dollar has a job, and that is a balanced plan, not a problem. To tighten variable spending for a month, pair this sheet with the no-spend month calendar. For spending handled in cash, the cash stuffing starter kit has cut-out envelopes with a category line and a budget-per-pay amount, one for each variable line kept in cash.