My wife and I tried for months trying to budget using apps like YNAB and others. None of them seemed to work for us. We were never sure how much we would spend on things like groceries, gas, and eating at restaurants because they changed so much from month to month. I found a template similar to the one linked above (I’m sorry to that original creator, but I can’t remember his name) and we fell in love with it. We were able to keep track of how much we spent, without worrying about staying within set amounts per category.

I’ve since added some quality-of-life updates to the sheet! It now allows you to keep track of month-to-month CC payments, savings, and extra “FUN” money. The INSTRUCTIONS page walks you through how it all works. I hope it works well for you!