Quick-Start Budget

Your first budget! It’s also the simplest, so you can relax now.

It’s time to get your feet wet with budgeting.

This form is only one page, but it will show you how much money you need every month to cover
necessities. While your mortgage or rent is listed here, we won’t get into the details of your credit
card bills, student loans, car payments and any other debt yet. The Quick-Start Budget is just your
starting point.

step 1
Food Transportation Charity Personal Insurance Debt Envelope

UTILITIES Budgeted
Write down what you’re spending for the month
Housing Medical Recreation Savings Clothing Utilities Envelope

A
Electricity
Reality Check

in each of the categories listed (A). If you don’t

Gas
know exactly, just make your best guess. We’re
keeping it simple for now.

step 2
Internet
Write the total for each category in the Total box
Cable
(B) and move on to the next category. See? Easy!
b TOTAL

step 3
Add up all eight of your total boxes and enter that
number at the bottom in the Category Totals box c CATEGORY TOTALS
(C). This shows you how much you’re spending in
a month for your basic necessities, not including
any kind of debt. We’ll get to all that later.
 Quick-Start Budget Taking control of your money starts here!

Add up budgeted column ions for cash envelopes

& enter here These icons represent good opt

Food Transportation Charity

CHARITY
Personal Insurance Debt Envelope Budgeted Food
FOOD
Transportation Charity Personal Insurance Debt Envelope
Budgeted

Housing Medical Recreation

Tithes
Savings Clothing Utilities Envelope Housing
Groceries
Medical Recreation Savings Clothing Utilities Envelope

Reality Check

TOTAL TOTAL
Reality Check

ood Transportation Charity Personal Insurance Debt Envelope Food Transportation Charity Personal Insurance Debt Envelope

using Medical Recreation Savings

SAVING
Clothing Utilities Envelope Budgeted Housing Medical Recreation Savings Clothing
CLOTHING
Utilities Envelope Budgeted

Emergency Fund Adults

y Check Reality Check

Other _________________ Children

TOTAL TOTAL
Food Transportation Charity Personal Insurance Debt Envelope

Housing
HOUSING
Medical Recreation Savings Clothing Utilities Envelope Budgeted Food Transportation
TRANSPORTATION
Charity Personal Insurance Debt Envelope Budgeted

Reality Check
First Mortgage/Rent Housing Medical
Car Payment
Recreation Savings Clothing Utilities Envelope

Second Mortgage Reality Check

Car Payment
Real Estate Taxes Gas & Oil
Repairs/Maint. Repairs & Tires
Homeowner/Renter Ins. Auto Insurance

TOTAL TOTAL
y Personal Insurance Debt Envelope

on Savings Clothing Utilities

UTILITIES
Envelope
Budgeted Food Transportation Charity Personal
PERSONAL
Insurance Debt Envelope Budgeted

Electricity Housing Medical Recreation Savings

Life Insurance
Clothing Utilities Envelope

Gas Reality Check

Health Insurance
Water Disability Insurance
Trash Child Care/Sitter
Phone/Mobile Entertainment
Internet Other _________________
Cable Other _________________

TOTAL TOTAL

Add up totals CATEGORY TOTALS

from all categories

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Irregular Income Planning
If you have an irregular income, this form just became your best friend!

Some people’s paychecks all look the same, and some people’s don’t.
If you’re self-employed or in sales, you really understand this! But you’re not free from filling
out budgets. As a matter of fact, this form is vital for just that reason! It can be easy for debts and
expenses to overtake what you’re bringing in. Stay on top of your money here.

step 1
Fill in the Monthly Cash Flow Plan form based on
what you reasonably expect to bring home for
the month. If you aren’t sure, use last year’s lowest
income month as your starting point.

step 2
List anything that didn’t make it in your Monthly
Cash Flow Plan in the Items column (a). These A Hospital Bill - Snowball
are the things that you couldn’t budget for but Home Depot - Snowball
need to be funded.
Extra Entertainment

step 3
Rewrite your expenses in priority order and t
keep a running total. Setting good priorities is 460 460
=
crucial here. For instance, a beach trip is not
1,000 1,460
50 1,510
more important than putting food on the table!

step 4
When you get paid, write any additional income 1,500
in the box (b). “Additional” means anything above
b
and beyond what you budgeted on the Monthly
Cash Flow Plan form.

step 5
Spend your money right down the list until it’s
t
all gone. You most likely won’t make it all the 460 460
way down the list. That’s okay! That’s why it’s 1,000 = 1,460
important to prioritize. 50 40 1,510 1,500
Irregular Income Planning
If you have an irregular income, this form just became your best friend!

Any additional irregular income goes here

Additional Irregular Income
List, in priority order, anything that
total
didn’t make it in your monthly cash flow plan Work back & forth, adding each budgeted item to the running

ITEMS BUDGETED RUNNING TOTAL

+
=

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Monthly Cash Flow Plan
Cash flows in and out each month. Make sure you tell it where to go!

Yes, this budget form has a lot of lines and blanks.

But that’s okay. We do that so we can list practically every expense imaginable on this form to
prevent you from forgetting something. Don’t expect to put something on every line. Just use the
ones that are relevant to your specific situation.

step 1
Enter your monthly take-home pay in the box at A
the top right (A). This is the amount you have for
Monthly Take-Home Pay
the month to budget. So far so good, huh?

step 2
Within each main category, such as Food,
there are subcategories, like Groceries. Start
at the top and work your way down, filling out Food
food
Transportation Charity Personal Insurance Debt Envelope Spent Budgeted
the Budgeted column (B) first. Add up each b
Groceries
subcategory and put that number in the
Housing Medical Recreation Savings Clothing Utilities Envelope

Restaurants
Total box (C). c
Reality Check

d
Also, pay attention to Dave’s recommended
percentages (D). This will help you keep from
budgeting too much for a category.

step 3
Finally, enter your take-home pay in the top
e TAKE-HOME PAY
box at the end of the page (E), then add up all
categories and place that total in the Category f – CATEGORY TOTALS
Totals box (F). Then subtract your Category
Totals amount from your Take-Home Pay. You
G = ZERO BALANCE
should have a zero balance (G). Doesn’t that
feel great?

step 4
food Spent Budgeted
When the month ends, put what you actually Food Transportation Charity Personal Insurance Debt Envelope

h
spent in the Spent column (H). That will help you Housing Groceries
Medical Recreation Savings Clothing Utilities Envelope

make any necessary adjustments to the next Reality Check

Restaurants
month’s budget.
 Monthly Cash Flow Plan Cash flows in and out each month. Make sure you tell it where to go!

Monthly Take-Home Pay

Add up budgeted column opes
& enter here These icons represent good options for cash envel

Food Transportation Charity

CHARITY
Personal Insurance Debt Envelope Spent Budgeted Food
FOOD
Transportation Charity Personal Insurance Debt Envelope Spent Budgeted

Housing Medical Recreation

Tithes
Savings Clothing Utilities Envelope Housing
Groceries
Medical Recreation Savings Clothing Utilities Envelope

Reality Check
Charity & Offerings Reality Check Restaurants

*10–15% TOTAL *5–15% TOTAL

d Transportation Charity Personal Insurance Debt Envelope
Food Transportation Charity Personal Insurance Debt Envelope

ng Medical Recreation Savings

SAVING
Clothing Utilities Envelope
Spent BudgetedHousing Medical Recreation Savings Clothing
CLOTHING
Utilities Envelope
Spent Budgeted

Emergency Fund Adults

Reality Check
Check

Retirement Fund Children

College Fund Cleaning/Laundry

*10–15% TOTAL *2–7% TOTAL

Food Transportation Charity Personal Insurance Debt Envelope

Housing
HOUSING
Medical Recreation Savings Clothing Utilities Envelope
Spent Budgeted Food Transportation
TRANSPORTATION
Charity Personal Insurance Debt Envelope Spent Budgeted

Reality Check

First Mortgage/Rent Housing Medical

Gas & Oil
Recreation Savings Clothing Utilities Envelope

Second Mortgage Reality Check

Repairs & Tires
Real Estate Taxes License & Taxes
Repairs/Maint. Car Replacement
Association Dues Other _________________

*25–35% TOTAL Food Transportation Charity Personal Insurance Debt Envelope

*10–15% TOTAL
ty Personal Insurance Debt Envelope

ion Savings Clothing Utilities

UTILITIES
Envelope
Spent Budgeted Housing Medical
MEDICAL/HEALTH
Recreation Savings Clothing Utilities Envelope
Spent Budgeted

Electricity Reality Check

Medications
Gas Doctor Bills
Water Dentist
Trash Optometrist
Phone/Mobile Vitamins
Internet Other _________________
Cable Other _________________

*5–10% TOTAL *5–10% TOTAL

*Dave’s Recommended Percentages

Sign in to FPU Central at daveramsey.com to download this form and explore our other online budgeting tools!
 Food Transportation Charity Personal Insurance Debt Envelope

Food Transportation Charity Personal Insurance

INSURANCE
Debt Envelope Spent Budgeted RECREATION Spent Budgeted
Housing Medical Recreation Savings Clothing Utilities Envelope

Housing Medical Recreation Savings Clothing Life Insurance

Utilities Envelope Reality Check
Entertainment

ality Check
Health Insurance Vacation
Homeowner/Renter
*5–10% TOTAL
Auto Insurance
Disability Insurance DEBTS Spent Budgeted

Identity Theft
Car Payment 1
Long-Term Care
Food Transportation Charity Personal Insurance Debt Envelope

Car Payment 2
*10–25% TOTAL
Housing Medical Recreation Savings
Credit Card 1 _______
Clothing Utilities Envelope

Credit Card 2 _______

PERSONAL Spent Budgeted
Credit Card 3 _______
Food Transportation Charity Personal Insurance Debt Envelope Reality Check

Housing Medical Recreation Savings Child Care/Sitter

Clothing Utilities Envelope Credit Card 4 _______
Reality Check Toiletries Credit Card 5 _______
Cosmetics/Hair Care Student Loan 1
Education/Tuition Student Loan 2
Books/Supplies Student Loan 3
Child Support Student Loan 4
Alimony Other _________________
Subscriptions Other _________________
Organization Dues Other _________________
Gifts (inc. Christmas) Other _________________
Replace Furniture Other _________________
Pocket Money (His) Your goal is O% *5–10% TOTAL
Pocket Money (Hers)
Once you have completed filling out each category,
Baby Supplies subtract all category totals from your take-home pay.
Pet Supplies
Music/Technology Use the “income sources”
form if necessary TAKE-HOME PAY
Miscellaneous
Add up totals
Other _________________ from each category – CATEGORY TOTALS
Other _________________ Remember —
The goal of a zero- based =
budget is to get this ZERO BALANCE
*5–10% TOTAL number to zero

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