Simple Budget: Your Questions Answered
Clear, direct answers to the questions people ask most about the Simple Budget — setup, categories, taxes, and automation — all in one place.
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Getting started
How do I set up the simple budget template?
Copy the Google Sheet to your Drive, type your monthly income at the top, and list your regular expenses under the starter categories. The total and "money left over" calculate automatically. Setup takes about five minutes.
What is a simple budget?
A simple budget is the bare-minimum plan for your money — your income, your expenses, and what's left over. It skips charts, sub-categories, and advanced tabs so you can actually keep using it.
Who is a simple budget template for?
Anyone budgeting for the first time, or anyone who has tried a complicated template and quit. If you just want to know how much money you have left each month, this is the one to start with.
Can I use the simple budget on my phone?
Yes. The Google Sheets mobile app opens the full template, so you can check your leftover number or add an expense in about 30 seconds from anywhere.
Using the template
What do I actually have to fill in?
Just two things — your monthly income and your expenses. Everything else, including the totals and the money-left-over figure, is calculated for you.
How does "money left over" get calculated?
The template subtracts your total expenses from your total income. When the number is positive you have money to save or spend; when it's negative you're overspending and need to trim a category.
How many spending categories should I use?
Start with the handful that come built in — housing, food, transport, fun money, and a catch-all. The whole point of a simple budget is to avoid drowning in categories, so only add more if you genuinely need them.
Can I budget with irregular income?
Yes. Enter your lowest recent month as your income so the plan always holds, and treat anything above that as a bonus to save. Update the single income field each month as needed.
Keeping it simple
Why not just use a full budget spreadsheet?
A full spreadsheet is great once you have the habit, but more tabs and charts are exactly what makes beginners quit. Start simple, build the weekly habit, then move up to the Budget Spreadsheet or Monthly Budget template when you want more detail.
Can I add categories later if I outgrow it?
Yes. Rename or add categories anytime and the totals keep working. When you want dashboards and budget-vs-actual tracking, switch to a fuller Avery template — your numbers come with you.
Does it have charts or a dashboard?
No, and that's on purpose. A simple budget shows income, expenses, and what's left in one view. If you want charts and a monthly dashboard, the Budget Spreadsheet template adds them.
Automating with Avery
How does Avery keep the simple budget updated?
Avery connects to your bank through a read-only link, imports every new transaction, and uses AI to sort each one into your categories — so the budget stays current without any manual entry. You just glance at it each week.
Is my financial data safe with Avery?
The template lives in your own Google Drive — you own it, not a third-party app. Avery's bank connections are read-only and bank-grade encrypted and can never move money. Two-factor authentication on your Google account adds another layer.
How much does Avery cost?
The template is free forever. Avery's automatic bank sync and AI categorization are a paid subscription with a free trial, so you can see the automated version before paying.
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