Having a wise attitude towards money has become even more important as the Cost of Living Crisis continues to bite. Practically, using a budget planner is a great way to understand where your money is going and help to prioritise financial giving as a spiritual discipline within your monthly budget. With this insight you can start making changes that will help you to achieve your giving goals without worrying that you are giving away too much or too little.
Our Budget planner template is simple to use and will get you started really quickly.
What is a budget planner?
A budget planner gives you an accurate picture of your income and where that money is being spent. It will break down how much you spend on pretty much every aspect of your life. By understanding this level of detail it becomes a very powerful tool that you can use to organise your finances.
Why a budget planner is important
Most people who use a monthly budget planner start to make a difference immediately. Having insight into their spending patterns gives them the power to make changes. They might be small adjustments at first, but they can have a significant future impact. Using a budget planner to organise our finances also means that we're better equipped to give more generously.
The main goal of a budget planner is to help you understand where your money is going. Knowing this means that you won’t spend more than you earn. It will also allow you to factor in treats without feeling guilty about whether you can afford it. From a giving perspective it will also enable to you to plan and pro-actively manage how much you can give to charitable causes that you care about. All this will lead in time to a positive cash flow and an opportunity to be generous with what you have even when times are hard.
How to use the Budget Planner
The budget planner template we have provided is easy to use. All you need to do is enter the amounts in the projected and actual boxes, and the results will calculate for you. You can change the descriptions for the items you spend money on if you want and also add in extra lines if needed.
To complete the planner, you will need to enter your monthly income and anything you spend. So you will need access to your bank account figures, as well as receipts and statements to start filling it in.
The section at the very bottom of the planner is called 'seasonal'. This allows you to factor in ‘one-off’ amounts that come up throughout the year such as birthdays and holidays. You might choose to move these amounts to a savings account each month to use when the time arises.
Getting started with the template
Creating a budget planner is simple and easy but it has immense power to change the state of your everyday finances. It will give you a much better handle on where your money is being spent, freeing you to be more generous with what you have. During the cost of living crisis there has never been a better time to start one and Stewardship’s Guide to Budgeting is also a great place to start when considering how to budget well and live generously
Download the budget planner today and take control of your finances.
Matt Holderness
Matt joined Stewardship in 2022 with over twenty years of marketing experience from roles at Kendal College and Capernwray Bible School. He has degrees in Business and Marketing, Theology, Management and most recently a Masters in Hermeneutics.
Through raising awareness of Stewardship’s services, Matt helps people explore the impact their generosity can have on the church and Christian charities. He’s passionate about supporting Evangelism and Bible causes, and has a particular interest in charities that are helping people in Poverty and Debt in the UK.
