FREE PRINTABLE
One page, one payday, sinking funds already built in. You do not have to track every coffee for this to work, and it does not ask you for a number you have not got.
Free download
Get the payday budget planner
A single sheet you fill in once per payday. Print it monthly, or print twelve and put them in a folder.
One email, one password, and it opens every printable on the site. No spam, unsubscribe any time.
What is on the page
- Take-home pay, not salary. The number that actually lands, which is the only one that matters
- Fixed costs. Rent, bills, the subscriptions you forgot about
- Sinking funds. The annual things that wreck a month when they arrive all at once
- One spending line. Not fourteen categories. One
- A leftover box. And a place to decide what it is for before it decides for you
Why one page and not a spreadsheet
Most budgets die because they ask for maintenance. A spreadsheet needs you every day. This needs you once, on payday, for about ten minutes, and then it sits on the fridge doing its job without you. If you have abandoned a budget before, it was almost certainly the admin and not you.
How to use it
- Print it the night before payday.
- Write your real take-home at the top. Not your salary divided by twelve.
- Fill in fixed costs from last month’s statement, not from memory.
- Give the sinking funds a number, even a small one. This is the step everyone skips.
- Whatever is left is your spending money, and it is allowed to be spent.
Read next
- How to Use a Budget Planner Without Tracking Every Dollar
- Zero-based budgeting for beginners
- Cash stuffing, if paper works better for you
- The budgeting apps, matched to how you actually think
- How to Save $1,000 in 3 Months
- Every other printable on the site
Questions
What if my income changes every month?
Fill it in on the payday you have, not the average you hope for. Irregular income is exactly why the sinking funds line exists.
Do I need to print a new one every month?
Yes, and that is deliberate. Rewriting the numbers is what makes you look at them.
Is it really free?
Yes. One email, one password, and the same password opens every printable on the site.