How to Set Up a Low-Maintenance Budgeting System That Works

Proverbs 27:23-24 exhorts us, “Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations.” This was written to a pastoral society, where flocks and herds were people’s wealth. In this passage, the writer of Proverbs warns us to pay attention to our resources or they will slip out of our fingers.

Why Budgeting Matters

The best way to heed his advice in our modern financial system is through budgeting. Unfortunately, many people are resistant to budgeting, and therefore, fail to heed the proverb’s wisdom. People avoid budgeting for a number of reasons. Often, they simply don’t know how to start. Others believe it’s too time-consuming or feels restrictive.

But the truth is, a good budget brings freedom. It gives you control and confidence, helping you align your spending with your values and long-term goals.

Budgeting is also the foundation of biblical stewardship. You can only manage God’s money wisely if you first know what money there is and where it is going.

The Guide Financial Planning Budget Spreadsheet

After decades helping individuals along their stewardship journey, we have developed a budgeting system that we feel minimizes the time required and maximizes simplicity without giving up good quality cash flow information. It’s designed to be straightforward and mostly automated so that once it’s set up, your monthly maintenance is minimal. You can download the budget spreadsheet here:

Guide FP Budget Spreadsheet

This article will explain the spreadsheet and how to use it.

Section 1: Income

The first section, on the top left of the document, is Income. This is everything that makes its way into your hands on a monthly basis, your take-home pay. If you have paycheck withholding for taxes, retirement savings, or insurance premiums, you will want to use the number after all of that is taken out.

If you’re paid every other week, simply add the total of two paychecks to determine your monthly take-home pay. You will also want to make sure to include any other income you have, such as freelance income, child support, or Social Security benefits. List each source of income and the amount in the upper left section and it will automatically carry through to other areas of the budget.

Section 2: Spending

This is the biggest section and where most people get tripped up. Because of that, we divide it into three categories: Past, Present, and Future.

Past Spending (Fixed Monthly Expenses)

Past spending includes all of your monthly recurring, fixed expenses, such as:

Mortgage or rent
Utilities
Insurance premiums
Regular giving or tithing
Subscriptions

These are the easiest to calculate since they don’t change much from month to month. Once you’ve entered them, the tool will total your monthly past spending automatically.

Present Spending (Day-to-Day Expenses)

Present spending represents your everyday variable expenses, such as:

Groceries
Gas
Dining out
Shopping
Entertainment

These can be harder to pin down because they fluctuate more. To determine how much you are spending in these categories, it's helpful to review several months of bank or credit card statements to get started and then use budgeting apps or websites to track them over time.

Future Spending (Irregular or Upcoming Costs)

Future spending includes less frequent, but expected, expenses, such as:

Vacations
Car repairs
Holiday gifts
Back-to-school shopping
Medical bills
Annual memberships

It can be hard to know how to budget for these, so we recommend following these steps:

List out all potential future expenses.
Estimate an annual cost for each. You can review past bank and credit card statements to see how much you have paid for them in the past.
Divide that amount by 12 to create a monthly savings goal.

Budgeting for these expenses allows you to get ahead and have the money ready when you need to pay for them. Otherwise, most people end up going into debt and end up struggling to catch up with their spending as the interest expenses weigh them down.

Section 3: Expense Summary

Once you’ve entered your past, present, and future spending, it will populate your expense summary in the middle of the top of the document. The summary allows you to see how much of your take-home pay is already committed (past), and how much goes towards current expenses (present) and preparing for the future (future).

The most valuable part of the summary is the monthly surplus/shortfall that is calculated for you. The tool subtracts your total expenses from your take-home pay to show you how much you have left or how much you’re overspending.

If you have a shortfall, it’s time to adjust your budget. Ask yourself the following questions:

Are there any past expenses I could cut back on (e.g. subscriptions)?
Can I reduce present spending?
Can I delay or scale back a future expense?
If I can’t reduce expenditures, is there a way I can bring in more income?

It’s really important to solve a shortfall because it will cause problems that compound over time. If you don’t have enough money coming in to cover your expenses, you will have to borrow money, which carries an additional expense in the interest that you have to pay. A prolonged budget shortfall leads to debt that is difficult to dig yourself out of.

If you have a surplus, you have other decisions to make. Consider how to use your surplus to better align your budget with your values. Some things you might do with a surplus are increase your giving (when’s the last time you gave the missionary you support a cost of living increase?), add to retirement or college savings, or build an emergency fund.

Section 4: Spending Breakdown

The budget spreadsheet also includes a Spending Breakdown that shows the percentage of your income going to each category. This visual summary helps you see where your money is going so you can ensure your spending matches your priorities. If you’re trying to make changes to your spending, it can also help you track your progress over time.

How to Use the Budget Tool

Once you have all of your income and spending laid out, what do you actually DO with this document? How is this going to simplify your life and make you a better steward?

You’re going to use this document as a guide. First, you want to automate your past spending as much as possible. If it doesn’t really change and it’s automatically paid, then you really don’t need to think about it on a monthly basis. We recommend reviewing your subscriptions annually to see if you are actually using them and still need them, but other than that, you can let your past expenses slip from your mind.

Next, we recommend automating your future expenses. How do you automate paying for something you haven’t bought yet? Through savings account contributions. There are a number of banks, such as Ally Bank and Capital One, that allow you to have multiple savings accounts or multiple “buckets” within a savings account. Set up separate savings accounts for each future spending category and then set up automatic monthly contributions. Then, when you need the money, you can go to the savings account and it will be right there waiting for you. Knowing that you are setting aside funds for the future in this way will make it easier to plan and spend with confidence.

Now that we have automated your past and future expenses, all that is left to monitor throughout the month are your present expenses. This allows you to cut through the noise and be laser-focused on the few things that you actually have control over on a monthly basis. Even if nothing is automated yet, just focusing on your present expenses is a great way to get started taking control of your monthly cash flow.

It takes a bit of effort to set this up initially—but once you do, the ongoing maintenance is simple. Each month, you’ll only need to:

Track your present spending throughout the month,
Withdraw from the appropriate future savings accounts/buckets at the end of the month,
Make any necessary adjustments to your budget to stay aligned with your goals.

Looking for Help?

This budgeting system and tool have been life-changing for many people, and we hope it serves you just as well. If you’d like personal help walking through your budget or setting financial goals, we would love to connect with you. You can easily schedule a free introductory call with us here.

Thanks again for using this tool—we are excited to see how it empowers you on your stewardship journey!

About Guide Financial Planning

Guide Financial Planning is led by founder Ben Wacek, who is a Christian fee-only Certified Financial Planner® and Certified Kingdom Advisor®. He has a passion for helping people of all income levels make wise financial decisions and steward their resources from an eternal perspective using Biblical principles. Based in Minneapolis, MN, he works with clients both locally and virtually throughout the country and abroad. You can follow the links to learn more about Guide Financial Planning and our team and the services we offer.