A template you can actually use
This is a plain monthly budget template: a short list of categories with columns for what you planned, what actually happened, and the difference. It works in any spreadsheet app, and it works whether or not you ever use DogeHub.
How to use it
- 1 Copy the categories below into a spreadsheet app of your choice: Google Sheets, Excel, Numbers, or similar.
- 2 Fill in the Planned column for each category before the month starts; a rough estimate is fine.
- 3 Fill in the Actual column as the month goes, or all at once at month end.
- 4 Let the Difference column show you where you were closest and where you were furthest off.
- 5 Copy the sheet for next month, keeping categories that worked and adjusting the ones that did not.
A sample month (JPY)
This is the structure to copy, filled in as a worked example.
| Category | Planned | Actual | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income | ¥280,000 | ¥280,000 | On plan |
| Rent | ¥90,000 | ¥90,000 | On plan |
| Utilities | ¥12,000 | ¥13,500 | -¥1,500 |
| Groceries | ¥45,000 | ¥49,200 | -¥4,200 |
| Transport | ¥8,000 | ¥6,400 | +¥1,600 |
| Subscriptions | ¥4,000 | ¥4,000 | On plan |
| Savings | ¥30,000 | ¥30,000 | On plan |
| Flexible spending | ¥25,000 | ¥21,000 | +¥4,000 |
| Unexpected spending | ¥0 | ¥6,000 | -¥6,000 |
Using it without DogeHub
Copy the categories and structure from the table above into any spreadsheet app you like, fill in your own numbers, and duplicate the sheet each month. Nothing about this approach requires DogeHub or any account.
Recreating it inside DogeHub (optional)
If you would rather not maintain a spreadsheet, the same categories can become monthly limits in DogeHub Budgeting's Plan screen, with entries logged as you go and a built-in Review/Adjust step at month end instead of a manual comparison.