Budgeting

Whether you're building your first budget or fine-tuning one that already works, start here. These articles, tools, and downloads walk you through budgeting from the basics to putting a plan into action.

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Build a Budget That Allows You to Save Money: Budgeting Basics
Build a Budget That Allows You to Save Money: Budgeting Basics

Make saving part of your budget, not just what's left over. Learn how to pay yourself first and build a savings habit that sticks.

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Prioritize Your Spending: Budgeting Basics
Prioritize Your Spending: Budgeting Basics

Step 3 of our budgeting series: decide what matters most. Learn how to rank your wants so your money goes toward what you actually care about.

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Wants vs. Needs: Budgeting Basics
Wants vs. Needs: Budgeting Basics

Not sure if every expense in your budget is a want or a need? Learn a simple way to tell the difference and start prioritizing your spending with confidence.

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Understand What You Spend: Budgeting Basics
Understand What You Spend: Budgeting Basics

In this blog series, we’ll walk through the five steps of budgeting and break down each one in a way that feels accessible and easy to follow. Start here for step 1: Understand what you spend.

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What is a Budget?
What is a Budget?

Not sure where to start with budgeting? This beginner-friendly guide explains the three parts of every budget and kicks off our step-by-step series.

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READY TO BUILD YOUR OWN BUDGET? These tools walk you through it step by step.

START LEARNING

  • Use this online worksheet to sort your spending into fixed, periodic, and variable expenses. Want the worksheet for later? Download a copy here.

  • List your expenses and label each one as a want or a need to see what’s essential and what you could cut back on if needed. Then download a copy of your worksheet to keep track of where your money is going.

  • Decide what “wants” in your budget matter most to you and identify spending you could cut without missing it.

  • A set of guided questions to help you check whether your spending actually matches how you want to live.

  • A guided worksheet to build a complete budget. Track your income, sort your expenses by needs and wants, set savings goals, and see the full picture.

ADDITIONAL BUDGETING RESOURCES