How to use Planly Balance Budget

Your template lives in your own Google Drive, so the first step is making your personal copy.

1. Open the PDF from your Etsy purchase (Etsy → You → Purchases and reviews → Download files).
2. Click the “Make my copy” button. If you're asked, sign in to your Google account.
3. Google shows a “Copy document” screen. Click the blue “Make a copy” button.
4. Your copy opens. Rename it if you like (click the title in the top-left), e.g. “Our 2027 Budget”.

Two quick choices on SETUP control how every other tab displays and calculates money.

1. Open the SETUP tab.
2. Under CURRENCY, type your currency symbol ($, €, £…) in the light cell. Every money cell in the template uses it.
3. Under CALCULATION SETUP, pick Zero based budget or Carry over budget from the dropdown.
4. Zero based budget: each month stands on its own and the goal is to give every dollar of income a job.
5. Carry over budget: whatever is left in Left to Spend and Left to Budget rolls forward into the next month, which is handy if your income varies or you have big expenses in some months.

The CATEGORIES section on SETUP is your master list. Whatever you type here appears automatically on all twelve month tabs.

1. In BILLS, list your fixed bills: rent or mortgage, utilities, insurance, phone, internet…
2. In EXPENSES, list flexible spending: groceries, gas, dining out, shopping, pets…
3. In SAVINGS, list where you put money aside: emergency fund, sinking funds, retirement…
4. In SUBSCRIPTIONS, list streaming, apps and memberships.
5. In DEBTS, list credit cards, car loans, student loans and other monthly debt payments.

This step is optional. Give your accounts simple names (like “Everyday”, “Savings” and “Cash”) and Balance Budget keeps a running total for each, based on what you log: the starting amount, plus income you add to it, minus spending paid from it. Prefer to keep it simple? Skip it. Everything else works without it.

1. In CHECKING AND SAVING ACCOUNTS, type a simple ACCOUNT NAME (e.g. “Everyday”, “Savings”) and choose its ACCOUNT TYPE: Checking or Saving.
2. Enter each STARTING BALANCE. Cash is already available in every dropdown.
3. In CREDIT CARD ACCOUNTS, add each CREDIT CARD NAME and its STARTING BALANCE (what you currently owe).
4. Whenever you move money from one account to another (including paying off a card), log it in TRANSFERRED BETWEEN ACCOUNTS: DATE, FROM, TO and AMOUNT TRANSFERRED.
5. If a total ever needs a correction, enter the difference in ADJUSTMENTS +/- and note the date in LAST CHECKED.

Each month has the same layout. Your category names are already filled in from SETUP. You just add the numbers you expect.

1. In INCOME, add each SOURCE (salary, side hustle…), its PAYDAY, the EXPECTED amount and the account it's DEPOSITED IN.
2. In BILLS, enter a BUDGET amount for each bill and its DUE date.
3. In EXPENSES and SAVINGS, enter a BUDGET amount for each category.
4. In SUBSCRIPTIONS and DEBTS, enter each BUDGET amount and DUE date.
5. Check the top of the tab: LEFT TO BUDGET shows how much income is still unassigned. With a zero-based budget, aim for zero.
6. The BUDGET SUMMARY table totals each group so you can see your whole plan in one place.

Planly Balance Budget · Monthly budget

The TRANSACTION TRACKER is where your plan meets real life. Log as you go, or batch it once a week.

1. Scroll down to TRANSACTION TRACKER on the month tab.
2. For each purchase or payment, enter the DATE and AMOUNT.
3. Pick the BUDGET NAME from the dropdown and CATEGORY fills in by itself.
4. If you added accounts, choose the ACCOUNT PROVENANCE (where it was paid from). Add a DESCRIPTION if you like.
5. When you get paid, type the actual amount in the REAL column of the INCOME table.
6. Watch REAL and DIFF. update in each section, and TOTAL EXPENSES and LEFT TO SPEND update at the top.

The 50/30/20 DASHBOARD shows how your real spending splits between needs, wants and savings/debts, and how that compares to your goal.

1. Open the 503020 tab and choose a month under WHICH MONTH DO YOU WANT TO IMPROVE?
2. In MY GOAL BREAKDOWN, check the PERC. for NEED, WANT and SAVINGS / DEBTS. They start at the classic 50%, 30% and 20%. Change them if you want a different split, keeping the TOTAL at 100%.
3. Scroll to the BILLS, EXPENSES, SAVINGS, SUBSCRIPTIONS and DEBTS lists. Next to each category, choose NEED, WANT or SAVINGS / DEBTS in the CATEGORY dropdown.
4. Compare MY GOAL BREAKDOWN with MY REAL BUDGET BREAKDOWN to see where you're over or under.
5. The BUDGET SUMMARY at the top shows budget vs. real for the chosen month.

Planly Balance Budget · 50/30/20 tracker

Once a few transactions are in, the dashboard comes alive. You never type here. It summarizes everything.

1. BUDGET SUMMARY: annual income, expenses, savings, left to spend, best saving month and biggest expense.
2. SINKING FUNDS SUMMARY: global progress, saved and left across all your funds.
3. DEBT CALCULATOR SUMMARY: initial balance, chosen strategy, monthly payments, current balance, total interest and your debt paid off date.
4. NET WORTH SUMMARY: your worth and annual growth, pulled from the NET WORTH tab.
5. NO SPENDING CHALLENGE SUMMARY: your no-spend days and challenge progress over the year.

Planly Balance Budget · Annual dashboard

The calendar lays out every payday, bill, subscription and debt payment on its date, with no extra typing needed.

1. Open CALENDAR and choose the month under DAILY CALENDAR FOR.
2. Use the legend: Income, Bill, Subscription, Debt, Bill paid and Today each have their own color.
3. Tick the checkbox next to a bill once you've paid it.
4. Jot reminders in the NOTES area.

Two tabs help you save for what's coming and pay off what you owe.

1. SINKING FUNDS: in FUNDS OVERVIEW, name each SINKING FUND and enter its GOAL, MONTHLY GOAL and any amount you've already saved under START.
2. Each time you save toward a fund, log it in CONTRIBUTION TRACKER: DATE, SINKING FUND and AMOUNT. SAVED, LEFT, PROG, MONTHS LEFT and ESTIMATE DATE update for you.
3. DEBT CALCULATOR: set the START DATE (year and month).
4. Under CHOOSE YOUR STRATEGY, pick Debt Snowball Strategy (smallest balance first), Debt Avalanche Strategy (highest interest first) or Custom Strategy (the order you list them).
5. Enter your MONTHLY EXTRA PAYMENT, anything you can add on top of the minimums.
6. List each debt: DEBT NAME, INITIAL BALANCE, INTEREST RATE and MIN. PAYMENT.
7. Read the results: INITIAL BALANCE, MONTHLY PAYMENTS and DEBT PAID OFF ON, plus the month-by-month schedule and the SORTED DATA ACCORDING TO THE STRATEGY table.

Two more tabs help you see the bigger picture and build better habits once the basics are running.

1. NET WORTH: under ASSETS (Cash & Bank Accounts, Investments, Properties, Other Assets) and LIABILITIES (Short-Term Debts, Long-Term Debts, Other Liabilities), name each item and fill the START column.
2. Once a month, fill that month's column. YOUR WORTH and YOUR ANNUAL GROWTH update automatically.
3. CHALLENGE: set a GOAL of no-spend days for each month in the NO SPENDING CHALLENGE. Days with no logged spending are marked for you.
4. In CHALLENGE #1 to #5, describe your challenge (e.g. takeout coffee), its AVERAGE COST/UNIT and your usual consumption, then tick each day you skip it to see MONEY SAVED.

At the end of each month, set up the next one in a few minutes.

1. Review the month: compare BUDGET vs. REAL in the BUDGET SUMMARY and check your split on the 503020 tab.
2. Open the next month's tab. Your categories are already there.
3. Copy your BUDGET amounts across (select the cells, copy, paste), then update due dates and paydays.
4. Adjust anything that changes this month: holidays, birthdays, annual bills.
5. Update NET WORTH and log the new month's transactions as they happen.