Guides › Money
Build a simple monthly budget that fits your life
A realistic budget built from your actual income and spending, with a set amount for bills, everyday spending and savings.
When to use it
Once, then review monthly
Step by step
Write down your monthly income
Note your take-home pay and any other regular money coming in, such as benefits or side income. Use the amount that actually lands in your account.
List your fixed costs
Write down rent or mortgage, bills, loan repayments, insurance and childcare. Rough figures are fine to start.
Ask the AI to draft the budget
Paste your numbers into your AI assistant with this prompt.
Prompt to copyHelp me build a monthly budget. My take-home income is [amount]. My fixed costs are: [list with amounts]. My typical spending on groceries, transport, eating out and fun is roughly: [list or 'not sure']. My goals are [for example: build a small emergency fund, stop using my overdraft]. Create a budget table with categories, monthly amount, and weekly amount for flexible categories. Keep it realistic, not strict. Show what's left over and suggest where it could go. Then give me the table in a format I can paste into Google Sheets.Paste it into a sheet
Paste the table into a new Google Sheet and add a column for what you actually spent each month.
Review after one month
At month end, paste your actual spending back in and ask the AI which categories need adjusting so the budget stays realistic.
What you get
Income £2,400. Fixed: Rent £900, Bills £210, Phone £25, Travelcard £140. Flexible: Groceries £280 (£65/week), Eating out £100, Personal £80. Savings: Emergency fund £200. Buffer £465 for irregular costs like gifts and car repairs.
Tips
- Include a line for irregular costs like birthdays and car repairs. Budgets fail when these surprise you.
- This is a planning tool, not financial advice. For debt or major decisions, speak to a qualified adviser or a free debt charity.