So three months ago, we created a poll in our Indian Auckland Meetup group, where we asked the group members, “what are some biggest issues you have been facing in NZ?

Out of 12 options, a majority of members voted for “Cost of living in NZ”. And I guess that makes sense as “Auckland is the second most expensive city to relocate to in the world. So we can’t expect things to be cheaper soon; however we can find some ways to save money.

With this trick, I was not only able to track my expenses but also confident that I will have a specific amount of money by the end of month/year. Also, I was able to reduce my extra expenses, save a right amount of money and set specific goals so I know when I will have enough money to buy something expensive. Being honest, this budgeting sheet worked like a charm and helped me regain my financial stability.

From the past three months, I have been trying to find some ways on how I can reduce daily costs and save money. I wanted to come up with a system so I can track my expenses and income and forecast how much I will be able to save by the end of the year. Also, I wanted to figure out a simple way to do it so everyone can use it and budget their monthly costs.

After a lot of research, I found a few different budgeting templates that were available online. But I found them challenging to use and hard to maintain. So I ended up merging a few different templates and created a simple one for myself and I started using it to set my weekly/monthly saving targets.

The best part it only took 15 mins a week to track and write everything. I am sure some of you will say you can also use some apps to do this similar budgeting but I am not comfortable registering my credit cards/bank info and sharing my buying behavior patterns etc. So I choose to go the traditional way. And the best part it worked for me.

First, here is the template for you to download.

shorturl.at/ewEQR

Now here I have written step by step process how you can use this:

Step 1: Go to Budget Summary sheet Table 1 and Set your annual saving goal

Step 2: Write your monthly income

Step 3: Go to table 2 and Set your monthly budget goals (Take reference from your previous month’s bank statement)

Step 4: Go to Sheet 2 “Spending Record” and start recording your expenses. (Add other categories if you need to)

Step 5: Come back to Sheet 1, now you will be able to see your “Over-Budget Categories” that you need to control. You will also be able to see your Monthly Saving Goal, Monthly Expenses, Monthly Net Income and Net Income After Savings.

And voila, you know your incomes, how much you need to save and at what point of time you will have how much money. Easy! Isn’t it?

I had also used many different coupon/promo websites while ordering stuff online. But I felt it was a bit extreme. Lol. But I will be using this template for sure.

Glossary –

Annual Savings Goal – Amount you want to save yearly

Monthly Savings Goal – Amount you need to save monthly to achieve your yearly saving goal

Monthly Net Income – Amount left after deducting Monthly Expenses from Monthly Income

Net Income After Savings – Amount left after deducting Monthly Savings Goal from Monthly Net Income

Do let me know your feedback if you think this is useful.