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In addition to setting up an overall gambling budget – weekly or monthly, for example – you can also install a maximum deposit limit on a daily basis. Some casinos will let you do it on your own; at others you’ll probably need to contact their customer support and ask to have a daily deposit limit set. Home Save Budgeting Advertiser Disclosure 12 Best Budget Templates. Budgeting is the foundation of any financial strategy. Here are the best budget templates to help you budget online, in a spreadsheet, or with pen and paper. For managing to fund over a shorter term, see Non-Profit Monthly Budget Template. Non-Profit Fundraising Budget Template – Addressing one key area of revenue income, ironically it takes money to make money. Non-Profit Development Budget Template – This is a special budget template to manage the funding of a developing project.
No matter where you are in your financial journey, budgeting is an essential money management tool. But just like personal finance is personal, there’s no one size fits all budget template.
There are many ways to budget and track how much money you’re making, spending, saving, and investing.
This is why it’s important to find the best way for you to budget. I’ve spent the last month diving into all of the best budget templates so you don’t have to.
There are four simple ways to set up a simple budget template: you can use a free budgeting app, spreadsheet (with Google Docs or Excel), a paid budgeting tool, or good old pen and paper.
Neither method is better than another, so it’s important to try out different methods and pick the best method for you.
No matter what budget method you choose, you want to find a way to budget you’re comfortable with so you’ll stick with it.
Best Budget Templates
Here are the best budget templates for you to customize for your own needs:
Best Online Budgeting Templates
Life is so busy so I’m always looking for more efficient ways to manage my money. This is why I prefer to budgeting on my phone using a free budgeting tracking app.
Personal Capital [Free]
In addition to using Mint since 2010, I’ve also been using Personal Capital just as long. You might be wondering why I’d choose to use both Mint and Personal Capital and the reason is because they both have different strengths.
While Mint is a great spending and budget tracker, Personal Capital has a lot more features and allows me to also track my investing portfolio performance, as well as the strength of my investing strategy.
The dashboard is also much more detailed so I can see my entire financial life on one screen, including my budget. Check out what the Personal Capital dashboard looks like below.
To learn about why (and how) I use both budget tracking apps check out my post on Personal Capital vs. Mint. Since using either Mint or Personal Capital requires you to link your bank and investing accounts, another question I address is: is Personal Capital safe?
To learn more about how I use Personal Capital, check out my Personal Capital review.
YNAB (You Need A Budget) [Free Trial, then as low as $7 per month]
According to YNAB, every dollar has a job and it’s up to you to put it to work. YNAB has tens of thousands of devoted users who swear by the service.
You Need A Budget is regularly recommended as the best paid budgeting tracker and template, and it’s an accolade that’s well deserved. It is without a doubt the most comprehensive and best online budgeting tracker on the market.
Their online budgeting template works on your computer, phone, and has every budgeting feature you would ever need. While it can be a little daunting at first, if you’re serious about taking your budgeting game to the next level it’s worth trying YNAB out for free.
Mint [Free]
Mint is a completely free app that completely changed budgeting when it debuted in 2006. I’ve been using it since 2010 to track my money and budget. It’s been a game changer in my life.
This means I now have almost 10 years of budgeting data in the app so I can track patterns over time, like how I’ve spent over $10,000 on Chipotle over the past 10 years!
Another feature I really like is Mint has a great phone and smartwatch app so you can see your budget on your hand so you don’t overspend in key categories.
Mint walks you through all of the steps and it’s super easy to set-up (and adjust) a budget over time.
Simplifi by Quicken [Free Trial, then $3.99 a month or $39.99 annual fee]
As you know, when it comes to budgeting there’s no one size fits all strategy. Budgeting is personal and while some people like the old school pen and paper or Excel template methods, I prefer using an app to see my entire financial life on my phone anytime I want.
The team at Quicken recently launched Simplifi, an exceptional mobile app designed to help you manage and optimize your personal finances. Think of it as your personal money dashboard – where you can easily track your income, bills, expenses, savings, investment accounts in one place.
One particular feature that we liked most is the spending plan which makes it easy to monitor your cash flow and is particularly helpful for entrepreneurs and side hustlers since income can fluctuate. While there are other free alternatives like Mint and Personal Capital, the robust features, ad-free environment, and customer support make the $3.99 a month or $39.99 annual fee likely worth it.
It’s definitely worth checking out and starting a free trial.
Mvelopes [Free 30 day Trial, then $6 per month]
Mvelops is an online service built on the envelope budgeting method. The envelope method of saving money and budgeting is a simple cash method.
If you struggle with managing a credit card or bank accounts, then the cash budgeting method might be right for you.
There are two ways that it can work. You can either get an envelope for everything you’re saving for and start saving cash in the envelopes. Then when you have enough money in each envelope you can use it.
Or another envelope method is when you get paid you can put cash in an envelope for each of your expense items (rent, groceries, etc.).
Then that month, or whatever period you define, you only use the cash that’s in those envelopes.
Every Dollar [Free]
Here’s another great budgeting app from the team at Ramsey Solutions. It’s a completely free and easy to use mobile budgeting template that you can use to track your income and expenses.
While it’s not as robust as Mint or Personal Capital, maybe you’re the type of person who prefers a simple budgeting app. If you’re someone who prefers fewer bells and whistles check out Everydollar.
Best Spreadsheet Budget Templates
Want can’t be solved in life with a good spreadsheet? There are so many great budgeting spreadsheets, but here are the best.
Free Google Sheets Budget Templates
There are some incredible Google Sheets Budget templates that are worth exploring. One added bonus is that you can easily edit them through the Google Sheets iPhone and Android apps, so you’ll never be far from your budget.
Here is a great collection of budget templates, all of which are completely customizable. Pro
CUSTOMIZE: After viewing each spreadsheet simply select Make A Copy under File to copy the spreadsheet into your own Google account where you’ll be able to edit and share it. Requesting access will not give you access. You need to copy it into your own account to make edits.
- Financial Independence Budget Template from FINJA (learn how to use here)
Free Microsoft Excel Budget Templates
Microsoft Excel has been used for budgeting since 1985 and they’ve compiled over 50 of the best Excel budget templates every made so you can use them too.
Whether you’re an Excel nerd or just looking for an easy way to manage your budget then Excel might be a simple solution. You can find all of the available Excel budget templates here.
Best Printable Budget Template
If you’d rather download a PDF budget that you can write on or keep in a budget binder, here is the best printable budget template.
Free Budget Printable from A Mom’s Take
When it comes to budgeting this is as simple as it gets. On this monthly budget worksheet, you can track your expected and actual income each month, along with all of your expenses.
Here’s a printable budget template PDF or the word doc the blog A Mom’s Take.
Client interviews are a skill we learn over time. Even the most timid of creative professionals can learn to enjoy them. But there’s one question that makes the stoutest of consultants stutter and stammer.
“What’s your budget?”
Writing a proposal without knowing your client’s budget is a terrible waste of your time. Nail this before you put pen to paper and you will put you in a far stronger position to win the proposal and subsequent project.
Of course, it’s not usually the question itself that causes us to clam up, but rather the objections we think our clients will give in response.
So how do you get your client to answer the question of budget?
I asked eight creative professionals at the top of their game, how they deal with the awkward question of budget. Here’s what they had to say.
Paul Jarvis of The Creative Class
“How do you approach the question of budget with your clients?”
I skip the back and forth by listing what my pricing starts at on my website on the homepage, the about page, and my portfolio page. It clearly says I don't work on projects under $X. That way, if a client doesn't have a budget of at least $X, we don't waste each other's time. Plus, if they do proceed, then they already have some idea of what the price will be, so it's much less scary since we both know we're on about the same page (or at least the chapter, ha). So listing my pricing on my site skips having to deal with budget questions, and then brings it down to specifics.
Listing my pricing on my site skips having to deal with budget questions, and then brings it down to specifics.
“What do you do when a client resists revealing their budget?”
If a client won't tell me they have at least what my website says, then I'm not sure why I'd work with them. I only work with clients who trust the process and collaboration. I can't remember any clients that haven't revealed their budget to me though. Maybe that's because I'm so up front with my own pricing.
Kurt Elster of Ethercycle
“How do you approach the question of budget with your clients?”
I base my budgets on the value that client will receive. An ideal project budget represents a huge ROI for the client, and equitable compensation for me. One way to establish that value is to ask, 'What's the impact to your organization if you don't complete this project?' An indirect way to ask and gauge the state of the organization is to ask, 'Why start this now vs six months ago or six months from now?' That's a great question which reveals volumes about motives.
If they resist, I'll press with a range intended to shock. 'Is it closers to $5K, $50K, or $500K?' That question often works.
“What do you do when a client resists revealing their budget?”
When writing a one-off proposal for a client, I do need to know their budget. And many people will resist revealing it because they believe I'll just bill whatever amount they reveal. Initially I'll ask outright, 'What have you budgeted to achieve your vision?' or 'What have you budgeted to ensure your project's success?' If they resist, I'll press with a range intended to shock. 'Is it closers to $5K, $50K, or $500K?' That question often works.
Nick Disabato of Draft
“How do you approach the question of budget with your clients?”
I ask what the overall budget for the project is. That way I can find a way to calculate the interaction design portion based on that. For some reason it seems less threatening to do it this way.
I usually walk if they get obviously uncomfortable about the prospect of buying design.
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“What do you do when a client resists revealing their budget?”
I usually walk if they get obviously uncomfortable about the prospect of buying design. Enough clients come my way that I can select for honesty.
Dennis Field of The Designer’s Handbook
“How do you approach the question of budget with your clients?”
To me I don’t make budgets an issue. They shouldn’t be. The simple fact is that the proposed clients and I are expected to work together to create the best solution possible. This starts from the very beginning of the relationship. My approach is to lay out my terms and gauge if that fits within their expectations. If not, we know upfront and we can look at alternative options for them (usually referring them along to someone else). I like to be honest and ensure from the start we’re on the same page. If (lately I don’t do too many of these) a proposal is needed, I’ll ensure I have the full scope and then only craft the full proposal once I’ve given them what they can expect from an investment. It does me no good to play the guessing game when it comes to creating an estimate or proposal. It’s a ton of wasted time and energy and I’ve learned from my experiences that you can get sucked into proposal creation mode with prospects and I’m up front that only if they need it and are ready for it, I’ll draft it. My chances of closing that deal is much higher, because the proposal is just outlining the detailed expectations of the projects. They’ve already been sold prior to the proposal process even begins.
My approach is to lay out my terms and gauge if that fits within their expectations. If not, we know upfront and we can look at alternative options for them.
“What do you do when a client resists revealing their budget?”
If someone doesn’t want to reveal their budget to me, it is a bit of a red flag. We’ve all been in that situation where a prospect says” Hey I’m not really sure of my budget.” You then craft a detailed proposal for them to respond with “We’ll I was thinking it would be half that cost.” Seriously! Now what do you do? You’re in a spot to where you either come down to their number (which sadly many do) and give a ton away for free, or you have to walk away after wasting hours drafting the perfect proposal and trying to guess at what they may have had in mind.
I believe this is a bit of a tactic, so what I do is rather let them tell me what things are valued at, I let them know up-front what I’m valued at by giving them past examples in conversations and qualifying. More often than not they’ll either say “Eeek that’s out of budget.” or “I think that’s doable. Let me confirm and I’ll be in touch.”
So to answer your question, If I do ask it’s only because I’m having doubt and we need to get to the numbers before I can continue to determine if we’ll work together well on the project being proposed. If they refuse to tell me, I just let them know that it’s important that I know so I can ensure that we can deliver the appropriate solution for you and just stress that our job is to work together on the best solution possible for your company. If I can’t work with your budget, I know someone who may. The important part of working with clients is the relationship part. In any relationship you have to ask the tough questions to get to the next step and to trust one another.
Keith Perhac of Develop Your Marketing
“How do you approach the question of budget with your clients?”
It really depends on how the client got in touch with us. If they're a completely cold lead, I try to set expectations that any project they do with me will probably need a budget of over $10,000. In my experience, this seems to be the magic number, as it weeds out clients who are not serious about the project. I get a fair share of one-off emails from people who want Etsy clones and who have a budget of $1k - $5k. Setting the lower limit for a budget also makes sure that I'm not going to be spending hours on the phone and creating custom proposals and then have the client say that they have no money. (I've actually had this happen once, where a client said they thought the 10k minimum was just a guideline, and that we could do the project for $5k. Sometimes I don't understand people)
For warmer leads (like referrals) I'll always get on an initial call, mostly because I love talking to people about what they're doing. During the call we'll talk about initial budgets, see what they're looking to spend, and try to work out what we can get done for that amount.
I used to be really nervous whenever I got to the topic of money, and not want to even broach the subject. Sometimes I'd even start working on project before we decided on a budget.
Not. A good idea.
At this point in my career, there are more people who want to do things with me than people I have time to work with. That doesn't mean I have a ton of clients with budgets – it means that there are a lot of people who want to do things 'as a partner' or 'for equity.' As much as I wish I had that much availability, I just don't – and it has forced me to have the budget conversation earlier, and be more direct with clients about what they can expect to spend. And in the end, people are much more appreciative of that. They don't want to spend 6 weeks thinking they're going to go with a developer and then find out that they're too expensive.
Set expectations early, and I find that everyone is happier.
Setting the lower limit for a budget also makes sure that I'm not going to be spending hours on the phone and creating custom proposals and then have the client say that they have no money
“What do you do when a client resists revealing their budget?”
I can understand why clients are reluctant about giving out their budget. It's the same reason that a lot of developers are reluctant about giving out a proposal without hearing a budget first!
When a client is talking to you for the first time, there's an anxiety that they're going to be taken advantage of – that if they say the budget is $20k, that the quote is magically going to come it at $19,950, even if the deliverables aren't worth that. And I respect that, as it's a very real fear. Working in enterprise sales for 6 years has shown me that budget is a delicate balancing game on both sides of the table. Because negotiations have to start somewhere, I am usually happy to give a preliminary budget, with the full expectation that this will change as we further define scope.
This sometimes goes well, and sometimes doesn't, but at some point someone has to put out the first number. Because development budgets are always woefully under-scoped, I choose a project that I've done in the past that has a similar scope, and increase the budget by about 25%. That gives us a little wiggle room so that we can go down to match a client's budget, while assuring us that the client has a realistic budget in mind in case things go over.
Marie Poulin of Digital Strategy School
“How do you approach the question of budget with your clients?”
I indicate a “starting at” price on my website, so most people who get in touch already have a rough idea of my pricing. This decision weeds out a lot of low budget clients, and prevents issues with the client revealing their budget.
At the point that they are contacting me, they already are committed to “investing” in their website, and they know they need more strategic work, so my proposal is not going to end up in sticker shock.
Get to the money conversation early, and don’t beat around the bush!
I think one way you can really start to open up that conversation is by just being very honest. “Getting a sense of your budget gives me a better sense of the recommendations that I can make and what’s possible. We can achieve a lot or a little depending on how much you want to invest, and over how long. How deep I’ll get into your strategy and features will depend on your budget, so let’s get a sense of what would be feasible for you over the next 3-6 months.'
I think the car dealership analogy often makes sense here: if you want into a dealership, you already have a sense of what you can afford. You can't expect a Jaguar if you have a budget for a Ford. Get to the money conversation early, and don’t beat around the bush!
Philip Morgan, author of The Positioning Manual for Technical Firms
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“How do you approach the question of budget with your clients?”
Earlier on in my freelance career, I always avoided talking about money with my clients. This had negative effects on me, the project, and my ability to get paid in a timely fashion every time. Business is about more than money, of course, but… it's also about money. I'm pretty sure it was a combination of Brennan Dunn writings and Blair Enns' Win Without Pitching Manifest that got me past that limitation.
So now, I approach the question of budget through a process that begins during my first conversation with a prospect. I make it a point to ask: 'How does your business make money?'. It's a very simple question that gets the potential awkwardness of discussing budget and money off the table right away. It's phrased in a way that's not nosey (for example, asking 'what is your salary' would be the wrong way to discuss money because it's perceived as nosey). If I've been discussing money issues with my client from our first conversation, then later when the issue of budget for my work comes up, it won't be the first time we've mentioned money!
Of course, I try to only do work that has a clear financial payoff for my clients. But even if the work doesn't have that clear payoff, discussing project budget is a lot easier if you have the context that the 'how does your business make money' question will provide you. If that question has revealed to you that your potential client makes tens of millions in revenue and they're arguing with you over spending a few thousand more on your work, you have lots of ways you can address their budget objections.
I like to start not by asking 'what is the budget for this project?' but instead with a more 'safe', general question of 'how does your business make money?'
“What do you do when a client resists revealing their budget?”
This hasn't happened since I started using the approach I describe above, but if it did I would take it as a sign I have not earned my prospective client's trust and I would not move forward in the sales process until I had earned their trust. Trust is not a binary 'mistrust' vs 'completely trust' thing. It's possible to earn trust in small increments.
That's why I like to start not by asking 'what is the budget for this project?' but instead with a more 'safe', general question of 'how does your business make money?' If a prospect is very guarded in their answer to this question, I know I have more trust-building to do. On the other hand, if they reveal revenue and profit margin and cost numbers right away, I know that I am further along in earning their trust.
Earlier in my career, I would treat every prospect as a potential 'whale' and every project as my only chance ever to land and eat that whale (I think doing a bit of agency work trained me to think this way). Since then I've realized that it's often better to think in terms of the smallest possible increment of improvement I can make for that client and propose that. The client and I can always ride the wave of success from a small, successful project into more ambitious engagements in the future. So this is another way to deal with the trust issue. Build it in little increments.
So to answer the question plainly, if a client resists revealing the budget, stop pushing, assess the situation, and find a small way to build trust with them. Maybe that's a so-called 'roadmapping session', maybe it's a smaller version of the project you had in mind, and maybe it's just simply saying, 'Maybe now's not the right time to discuss budget. Could you instead help me understand how this work will benefit the business? I'm always interested in knowing how I'm making my clients' lives better.'
Eric Davis of Little Stream Software
“How do you approach the question of budget with your clients?”
I bring up the budget discussion early on in our conversations, sometimes in the first or second email. Many clients are dodgy about their budget but we cannot start a project without addressing it. The exact question I use is:
'Do you have a budget you've set aside? Budget is usually the hardest question here but it's something that I need to at least have an idea on.'
I'll even tell them my weekly rate to see if that shakes anything loose.
“What do you do when a client resists revealing their budget?”
Some clients will just tell me their budget when asked. These are great because I can explain how much my services are and we can both decide if there's a match. Worst case there isn't a match and we don't have to invest any more time into the discussion. Since they were open I'll do my best to refer them to someone who is a better fit.
Many times a client will dodge with a response like “We’re willing to pay a reasonable amount for quality work', which frankly is true for every single business transaction.
When I get a response like that I push back and try to get a range. I'll even tell them my weekly rate to see if that shakes anything loose.
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'My weekly rate is $5,000 so I need to at least have an idea on what you're comfortable with. A ball park figure or range is fine. Are we talking $1k, $5k, $10k, or $25k?'
If they still won't tell me their budget then I walk away. Consulting is based on trust and if there isn't even enough trust to have a conversation about how one party is compensated, the rest of the sales process and project is going to be a struggle.
'It's your decision to not tell me what you've budgeted for this project. But in order for this project to be a success there needs to be a level of trust and openness between us. Dodging such a fundamental question like the project budget is a major red flag for me so I'm going to have to pass on this project. I wish you well and would look forward to hearing about your projects success'
The Common Thread
From these eight snippets alone, we can see a few common threads that help to get to the bottom of the budget problem.
- Bring up the subject of money early and often. Don’t be shy
- Be as direct as you can
- When asking for a budget, suggest a few ballpark figures
- Try orientative pricing on your web site to establish your minimum working fee
- Never let the budget question go unanswered past the first client assessment
- Don’t be afraid to say goodbye to clients who are unwilling to give their budget. But if their budget doesn’t work for you, refer them to another consultant who can help
In the end it comes down to repetition. The more you can ask the question, the easier it gets. If you're really nervous, try standing in front of the mirror and practicing variations of the question. It can help you to feel more confident when the moment of truth arrives. Stand tall and ask with confidence!
If you have any experiences with getting that all important budget from your clients, then please share them in the comments below. I'd love to hear how others approach this 'sticky' issue.
Good luck!