Free couples and family budget template (Google Sheets / Excel)

• Download the spreadsheet (.xlsx): the full workbook, with all five tabs and formulas.
• Download the expense list (.csv): a plain table with date, description, category, amount and paid by. Handy for a spreadsheet app that does not read .xlsx, or to start a separate expense log.

The file is free, with no sign-up and no macros. Rows marked “example” show how to fill in each tab: replace them with your own numbers or delete them.

1. Income

Enter each person’s name and monthly take-home pay. The sheet works out each partner’s share of household income on its own: with $1,500 and $2,000, that is 43% and 57%. Those percentages drive the proportional split. If one income varies, use an average over several months.

2. Fixed bills

One row per bill that comes back every month: rent or mortgage, utilities, internet, insurance, subscriptions, car loan. For each row, pick who pays it (A or B) and how it is split: 50/50, proportional, A only or B only. The “A’s share” and “B’s share” columns fill in automatically.

3. Variable spending

This is the part you fill in during the month: groceries, gas, pharmacy, nights out, school supplies. One row per expense, with the date, a description, the category and who paid, picked from drop-down lists. The sheet has room for 200 rows, enough for a busy month.

4. Split

This tab compares three ways to share the month’s total: everything 50/50, everything in proportion to income, or mixed (fixed bills by income, variable spending 50/50). A last row, “Your setup”, uses the split you chose for each fixed bill plus the split you picked for variable spending. That is the row the summary uses.

5. Summary

The summary brings it all together: household income, total fixed bills and variable spending, money left over, and a monthly budget for variable spending with what remains of it. At the bottom, it compares what each person should have paid with what they actually paid, then spells it out: “A owes $X to B”. One transfer and the month is settled.

Google Sheets reads Excel files. To work on the same spreadsheet as a couple, it is often the easiest option:

1. Download the .xlsx file to your computer.
2. Open a blank spreadsheet in Google Sheets, then click File > Import.
3. Choose the Upload tab, select the file, then pick Create new spreadsheet.
4. Click Share in the top right and invite your partner as an editor.

You can also upload the file to Google Drive, open it, and choose File > Save as Google Sheets. Either way, the original file stays unchanged, as Google’s help center explains. After importing, check that the drop-down lists and formulas work: they usually do, but how amounts are displayed can depend on the file’s locale (File > Settings).

1. Fill in income and fixed bills first, once. You will only touch them again when a paycheck or a contract changes.
2. Agree on the split before the first month. If your incomes differ, the split by income calculator helps you set the percentages; how couples split expenses compares the methods.
3. Log spending as you go, at least once a week. Rebuilding a month from receipts is when most spreadsheets get abandoned.
4. Settle up on a fixed date, say the last Sunday of the month, and clear whatever one partner owes the other.
5. Keep one copy per month: duplicate the file or the spending tab and clear the rows to start fresh.

A spreadsheet is free, flexible and easy to read. But as soon as two people keep it, the same three problems show up:

• Syncing is manual. With an Excel file, each partner has a copy and the numbers drift. With Google Sheets the file is shared, but someone still has to open it on their phone after every purchase.
• A broken formula goes unnoticed. One row deleted in the wrong place, one amount typed as text, and the summary is wrong without anyone noticing.
• Nothing warns you. The sheet shows what is left of the budget when you open it; it does not alert you as you get close.

If the spreadsheet works for you and you both keep it up, stick with it. If it keeps getting forgotten, it is time for a tool that does the updating for you.

SAVY follows the same logic as the template, but on both your phones and in real time. Each partner adds an expense in a few seconds, the other sees it right away, and the app keeps the who-owes-whom balance up to date.

SAVY does not connect to any bank and shows no ads. It does not import spreadsheet files: you start fresh, which takes a few minutes with the default categories. The app is available on iPhone and Android, not on the web.