How to make a monthly budget from scratch (step by step)

What a budget is for

A budget isn't a ban: it's a plan so your money goes to what really matters to you, instead of vanishing without you knowing where. A simple one is enough; the hard part isn't making it, it's keeping it going.

Five steps

• Write down your net income for the month: salary and any other regular income.
• List your fixed costs: those that repeat at a similar amount each month (rent, utilities, phone, transport, instalments).
• Estimate the variable ones: food, leisure, clothes, unexpected costs. Look at your statements from the last two or three months so you don't make numbers up.
• Set aside what is a priority first: savings and, if you do it, the money you send to your family.
• What remains is what you can spend on variable costs. If it comes out negative, you need to cut variable costs or find more income.

How to keep it going

Record each expense the same day, even if it takes two taps: leaving it for Sunday is the quickest way to give up. And review mid-month, not at the end: there's still time to correct course.

Don't look for the perfect budget. If you overspend in one category one month, adjust the next and carry on.

With Remesia

Remesia lets you split the month with your own rule (or the classic 50/30/20) and compares planned with actual, category by category, with no spreadsheets.