Budgeting. It’s a task that can seem scary, especially if you don’t have a lot of flexible income, have suddenly had a big expense or two take out your savings, or simply weren’t taught a lot about money management. Luckily, there are resources out there to help. Most of these do require a computer, tablet, or phone with data/internet access. However, there are resources available on our page that can help you get a library card, which gives you access to the public use computers available there for free. 

Read on to find out about a couple of different options, including the envelope budget method and how to use a spreadsheet to budget.

Know Your Expenses

No matter what kind of budgeting strategy you end up using, taking stock of your monthly expenses and income can be a useful exercise. Before exploring the options for keeping track of your finances, check out this downloadable PDF budgeting worksheet created by the Federal Trade Commission.

Envelope Budgeting

If you have access to a smartphone, one of the best budgeting apps currently available for free is Goodbudget. This application works by using a digital version of the envelope method of budget. 

What is Envelope Budgeting? 

Envelope budgeting is a money-saving method where one divides their available spending money into key spending categories by using envelopes.  

  • First, create separate envelopes for monthly bills/debt, groceries, things you’d like to save for, fun money, tithe (if you’re religious), or whatever else you may need to spend money on. 
  • Every time you get a new paycheck, you go through and refill the envelopes with the necessary funds. 

Virtual Envelope Budgeting

Goodbudget allows the user to utilize the envelope method virtually. Users get an initial 20 free envelopes a month, and can get up to 100 envelopes by paying an additional fee. This app is available for Apple and Android phones, and there is a web browser application as well. This is a great way to virtually budget.

Even if you don't have the app, you can simply create your own envelopes.  In general, this type of budgeting can be a practical, low-cost way to budget if you don’t have easy access to Wi-Fi, by using physical envelopes. 

Spreadsheet Budgeting

Google Sheets: A Digital Budgeting Tool

Google Sheets is also a great resource for budgeting. There is another page on our website explaining how to get a Gmail account if you don’t already have one. Gmail is free to sign up for and all of their applications are quite easy to use. With a smartphone, Google sheets can be accessed anytime. They have template budgeting sheet available, which allow the user to personalize their budgets (click on the "template gallery" link at the top right of the Google sheets page to browse available templates).  

Budgeting the Old-Fashioned Way

Can I do this kind of budgeting without the internet? Yes! Although it may seem more tedious in the beginning, this can easily be adjusted for those without easy access to the internet.  There are two easy solutions.

  • Printing out spreadsheet templates at the library can be done at a low-cost (around .20 cents a page). You can also make your own on a piece of paper, and manually write down what you spend. 
  • Some keep track of their spending through check books. Even if you don’t write checks, using a checkbook gives you an easy way keep track of spending without having to print out a spreadsheet. 

This form of budgeting forces people to keep track of everything that they spend in a period of time, which can help one see where they are unnecessarily spending money, and fine tune their budget accordingly.