"It takes money to make money" is a catchy phrase and all, but for many of us out there, spending more money just isn't an option. That's why we're giving away BudgetForLife for free, because we believe everyone deserves the opportunity to manage their money well. I mean, it is your money after all!
Note: Some users have reported difficulties using the "Get My Budget" button above. As an alternative, you can open the template here, sign into your Google account, and select "Make a copy" in the File menu to create your own (these are effectively the steps that the button above is intended to automate).
Getting Started
Click "Get My Budget" above to open your own copy of BudgetForLife in Google Sheets. If you are not already, you will be asked to log in to your Google account. You can also create an account here.
Once you open your new spreadsheet, click on "Get Started" for a one-time review of permissions, and use the Initialization tab to set everything up to your liking. Easy, right? |
Using BudgetForLife
Use the Log to record all of your incomes and expenses as they happen, and see your data come to life in the Budget and Summary sheets.
To make changes to your budget (e.g., adjusting the date range, renaming a category, adding rows to the Log, etc.), utilize the corresponding menus in the toolbar. Everything should be intuitive to use, and in general, messages will appear to prevent you from doing anything that could cause an error. |
Things To Note
Download the Google Sheets app (on Google Play for Android or on the App Store for iOS) to edit your budget on the go. BudgetForLife runs on Google Apps Script and will not work as a Microsoft Excel file.
To add features to your budget, visit the Control Panel tab. You can always turn features back off if you decide not to use them. If something goes wrong, don't hesitate to reach out to us via the Feedback menu in the toolbar. We're happy to help! |
It's true, we're giving away BudgetForLife 100% for free. It's also true that we've spent years building it! That said, if you find that using BudgetForLife improves your financial well-being, or if you'd like to see it continue to develop, we'd love for you to consider contributing. We're grateful for your support!