Budget Spreadsheet Templates

What is inside each budget spreadsheet

Both workbooks have the same four-sheet structure so switching from the student to the graduate version later does not mean learning a new layout.

• Summary dashboardYear totals, savings rate, biggest variable category and a single sentence telling you whether you are on track. Reads from the Monthly sheet, no duplicate data entry.
• Monthly trackerIncome, Fixed costs, Variable costs. Each category is a row, each month is a column, Year total on the right. Subtotals and Net remaining are formulas. Over-budget months flag red automatically.
• Categories referenceA plain list of every row in the Monthly sheet. Use it as a checklist if you are setting up a partner or sibling's budget from scratch.
• How to usePlain-English setup. Student version keys off the Student Finance letter; graduate version keys off your payslip.

How to use the budget spreadsheet

You only type into one sheet. Summary updates as you go. Red cells tell you to slow down, green means you can relax.

1. Pick the right workbook.Student if you are at university on a maintenance loan. Graduate if you are on a salary. You can download both if you are about to switch.
2. Fill the Monthly sheet.One column per month, one row per category. Use real numbers: direct-debit amounts for bills, net take-home for salary, exact instalments for maintenance loan.
3. Read the Summary sheet.Year totals, savings rate and the biggest variable category are all calculated for you. The traffic-light sentence under the KPI row tells you what to do next.
4. Check back monthly.Red on Net remaining means that month spent more than it earned. Two reds in a row is the signal to review a category, not to panic.

Budget spreadsheet FAQ

Short answers to the questions we hear most about the student and graduate budget workbooks.

Which one should I download, student or graduate?

Student if you are at university and living partly on a maintenance loan. Graduate if you are working full time on a salary, even if you are still repaying your loan. Download both if you are graduating this year and want to plan the handover. Our student money and graduate money hubs cover the wider context behind each version.

Does this work in Google Sheets or Apple Numbers?

Yes. Upload the .xlsx to Google Drive and open with Sheets, or open it in Numbers on a Mac. Every formula and the red-on-overspend rule carry across. If your numbers do not appear with a pound sign, apply the currency format to the Monthly sheet.

Can I add my own categories?

Yes. Insert a row inside the Income, Fixed costs or Variable costs block on the Monthly sheet. The Year total and the matching subtotal formulas will update automatically because they use SUM ranges, not cell-by-cell additions.

Why is the graduate workbook organised around April to March?

The UK tax year runs 6 April to 5 April. Starting the workbook in April means your PAYE, National Insurance and student loan repayments line up with the payroll year, so you can compare like-for-like months without breaking a column in the middle. If you want to see where the repayment threshold comes from, read our student loan repayment guide.