I’m going to show you how to make a monthly budget based on how I make my own — and I included screenshots from my personal budget!

“How are you able to travel the world on a writer’s salary?”

“How can you live by yourself in one of the most expensive cities in the world?”

“What tips do you have for saving money while traveling full-time?”

These are some of the questions I’ve gotten in my Instagram DM’s regarding money. They’re similar to questions I’ve gotten about my workout routine in that I feel like most of the people who ask me these questions want a “hack” or a “one and done” type answer that’ll completely solve their problems.

Unfortunately, when it comes to saving money or losing weight, there generally isn’t a shortcut (don’t get me started on NFTs). It’s more about creating a plan that works for you and sticking to it. 

Everyone comes from a different financial background and from a unique starting point, but in my humble opinion, everyone could use a budget. 

I personally have been on a budget since my senior year of college. I knew I would probably be moving to New York City once I graduated, and knew that I needed some serious cash to make that happen. I was working what felt like a zillion odd jobs at the time, and I wanted to get a sense of how much I was making from each income source and how much I was spending in all the various aspects of my life (groceries, transportation, bills, etc.). 

So, my boyfriend at the time helped me create an Excel sheet (he was an accounting major) where I could input all my income and expenses each month. 

You may be thinking to yourself, “wait, you’ve been on a budget since college…don’t you ever let yourself spend $?” Of course I do. There are some months where I let myself go over budget (actually, many months). I use the Excel sheet just to have a gut check and idea of how much money I “need” each month and how much money I have coming in. I am a freelancer, so the amount coming in changes pretty much every month. And of course, my monthly spending amount has changed significantly since I was in college (by a couple thousand at least).

Whether you want to join the budget-lifestyle like me, or are simply trying to save for a few months, here’s how to make a monthly budget for wherever you’re at in life:

Step 1: Get An Idea of Your Monthly Income

First things first, you need to know how much you’re making each month. Of course, this can be easier said than done if you’re a freelancer or self-employed like I am.

If you work a salaried job, this is simple. Just check your pay stubs or bank account to see how much you earn each month after taxes. 

If you’re more like me, you can do a couple of things. You may have an idea of how much you’re making next month because you’ll be getting paid for the work you did this month. If not, you can use this month as an example and adjust as you go. Alternatively, you can also separately think about each of your income sources and make a guesstimate of the average amount you make from that source each month. Here’s an example:

Galore Magazine: $250

Sephora Copywriting: $2000

Instagram Collaborations: $1000

This doesn’t have to be set in stone. So if you get a new client or lose a client, you can always adjust it. It’s just good to have a baseline to start with. 

Step 2: Write Down All Your Fixed Expenses

In business, fixed expenses are costs that don’t change with changes in sales volume. In your life, you can think of fixed expenses similarly. They’re the expenses that are the same every month and are probably something you consider a necessity. For example, your rent payment, your gym membership, your car payment, phone bill, etc. 

Step 3: Write Down All Other Monthly Expenses

There are some expenses you have every month that are variable, such as the amount you spend on groceries/take-out or gas. Like we did in step 1, you can try to come up with an average amount that you spend on these things. 

Step 4: See Where You’re At

Here’s where you’re going to want to whip out the excel or Google Sheet so you don’t have to do mental math. Here’s a photo of how I set my budget up format-wise

Then, you can plug in all the numbers. Step 1’s numbers will go in column C under planned income, and the numbers from step 2 and 3 will go in column C under planned expenses. My list of expenses is quite long, because I’ve been doing this a while, but you can start with fewer and add based on what you find you spend money on. You probably notice I have a column for “fun/travel.” I definitely didn’t when I was living in NYC and struggling to save money, but I do now and you can too based on your saving goals!

If you notice that you spend A LOT in certain categories that might not feel necessary, that’s okay! That’s why you’re doing this. For some tips on how to stop overspending and be better at living the boujie on a budget life, click here. 

Step 5: Crunch some numbers (JK, Excel will do that for you)

Here’s an example of what yours might look like once its filled out:

Putting $800 away each month might be great for you, or you might have something big coming up that you want to save more for. If that’s the case, I like to go through the planned expenses column and see what I can save money on for the month. For example, maybe I can skip out on investing $100 that month, or skip out on going out to eat as often and drop my planned dining out budget to $150. Maybe I can skip getting my nails done, etc. 

Nothing has to be set in stone either and things can be adjusted throughout the month. If you accidentally overspend on groceries—no biggie, you’ve gotta eat. But maybe tell yourself not to do any shopping that month to make up for it. Of course, I don’t know if this is the “perfect” formula, but this is a formula that’s worked for me in the past. Here’s also an example from a year where I wasn’t making as much money (but I was also living at home so I had way less expenses:

Step 6: Put It Into Practice

So by now you should have a rough outline of your monthly budget. Of course, things are always changing, and you didn’t sign it in blood, so if your boyfriend’s birthday is coming up and you want to ball out on his gift, don’t beat yourself up about it. 

The most difficult part of doing your budget this way is not keeping to it, but keeping track of it. Excel isn’t automatically connected to your credit card, so I fill my sheet out manually. It’s a little psychotic perhaps, but it helps me be aware of my spending and stay up to date with where I’m at each month. If I get near the end of the month and I realize I didn’t spend as much as I planned to, I’ll treat myself to a nice meal or buy something I’ve been meaning to purchase. Or, sometimes I’ll just smile and save a bit extra that month.

There are of course apps that can probably automate this for you, but old habits die hard and I like the way I do things. I feel like keeping track of my expenses actually helps me spend less! Or, allows me to feel good when I do treat myself, because I know I don’t do it all the time and usually I’m saving! 

If you have a specific amount you need to save, you can sort of work backwards and start with the amount you need to save, then go from there. Just make sure to include ALL expenses. For example, if you’re saving for a destination wedding, don’t forget to plan for flights, Ubers to the airport, your outfit, your hotel room, any food you’ll need to purchase at the airport or at the hotel, etc. 

I hope this was helpful! And if all you learned was that I’m OCD when it comes to budgeting, then at least you learned that!