1. Creating a Budget in Microsoft Excel

2. Creating a Budget: Getting Started Determine your income What’s your take-home pay? If your income is less predictable, a good estimate would be to look at your last six months of income and find the average

3. Creating a Budget: Getting Started Determine your expenses Examples: utilities, housing, car payment, food, etc. Be realistic and include everything Review older bank statements to help you remember

4. Creating a Budget: Getting Started Set both long-term and short-term goals: Long-term: get the house paid off early, buy a car with cash Short-term: a new purse, a smartphone, a new suit Get creative: what’s one thing you’ve always wanted but never thought you could have?

5. Creating a Budget: Getting Started Create the budget and use it to: Track your spending Plan for expenses Look for ways to spend less Find ways to boost your income

6. Creating a Budget: Getting Started Personalize your budget Adjust your spending to accommodate your goals What can you spend less on? What can you change?

7. Creating a Budget: Getting Started Check in monthly How will you know if you are succeeding if you don’t look at your budget on an on-going basis? Don’t punish yourself if you fall into old spending habits– just move forward

8. Using Excel to Create a Budget Excel is spreadsheet software created by Microsoft used to store, arrange and manipulate data

24. CONGRATULATIONS! You created a budget!