Home / Commons / Monthly budget helper

Fluent · Commons tool

A month in date order, before it happens.

Put in what comes in and what has to go out, with the dates. See the month day by day, the week when money runs shortest, and whether a lower month still covers the bills.

FreeNo sign-upNothing leaves your browserPrint or save as PDF

This helper needs JavaScript, which is turned off. The same steps work on paper: print the Everyday money worksheet, write each payday and bill in date order, and keep a running total down the side.

Free, no sign-up. Nothing you type leaves your browser. Your numbers are saved in this browser only, so you can come back to them. Use Clear everything when you are done, especially on a shared computer.

Teaching the Everyday money session, or just want to see how it works? Fill in the kit’s invented household.

01The month
02Money coming in

Pay, benefits, support from family, side work. Write each with the day of the month it usually arrives, what it is in a usual month, and what it is in a lower month.

03Bills that can’t move

Housing, power, transport to work, childcare, debt repayments: each with the day it is due.

04Costs that don’t come every month

Yearly fees, school costs, birthdays, repairs. Write what each comes to in a year; the helper divides by 12.

05Everyday spending

Food, phone top-ups, everything else. A weekly guess is easier than a monthly one.

See what the numbers show

What the numbers show

Fills in as you type.

Budget helper

What the numbers show

Add the money coming in and at least one bill, or try the made-up month, and the month appears here in date order.

If the month doesn’t add up

From the Everyday money handout:

  • Free, confidential help with bills and debt exists; see below.
  • Nobody needs to charge you to deal with your creditors or apply for help.
  • Ask companies about hardship plans before you fall behind.

Free, official help where you live: free help by country (moraph.org/commons/help).

What the numbers show, not advice about anyone’s own situation. Worked out in this browser; nothing was sent anywhere.

Made with the free monthly budget helper at moraph.org/commons/budget-helper.

Amounts are worked out to the nearest 0.01, in whatever currency you use. In the print dialog, “Save as PDF” keeps a copy.

How it works it out

Dates matter as much as amounts.

A month can add up on paper and still go wrong, because the rent is due on the 1st and the pay comes on the 5th. So the helper puts every payday and bill on the month in date order and keeps a running balance, starting from the amount you say you have on the 1st.

  • Same day. When money goes out and comes in on the same day, the helper takes the money out first, so the lowest point is never hidden.
  • Short months. A payday or bill on a day the month doesn’t have (the 31st in a 30-day month, or the 29th to 31st in February) counts on the month’s last day.
  • Everyday spending. A week’s amount times 52 weeks, divided by 12 months. It goes out a week at a time on the 1st, 8th, 15th and 22nd, and the rest of the monthly figure on the 29th (or the last day of February).
  • Costs that don’t come every month. The yearly amount divided by 12 is what to put aside each month. It is counted in the totals, not on a date.
  • The tight week. The week (1st to 7th, 8th to 14th, 15th to 21st, 22nd to 28th, or 29th to the end) with the lowest balance in a usual month.

It shows what the numbers say, not what anyone should do. For that, the Everyday money session and our money basics guide explain the ideas, and free help by country lists official, free services.

Want money sessions for the people you serve?

Fluent brings free, practical money sessions to libraries, schools, credit unions and community organizations. Nothing to sell.

Host Fluent sessions