The 2022 Budget Binder, based off of Dave Ramsey’s financial principles, will help you budget by paycheck, build your savings, pay off debt, and give yourself permission to spend!
After many hours and late nights hard at work on my computer, the 2022 Budget Binder is finally ready for YOU! This year is YOUR year. It’s time to take control of your finances, budget your money in a way that actually makes sense, pay off debt, build your savings, invest for retirement, and so much more. The 2022 Budget Binder is here to help you do just that!
Whether you’re a long-time reader or just clicked over here from Pinterest, I’m so glad you’re here! It means you are ready to simplify your finances and finally get on a written budget. That’s amazing! I’m so excited for you to take this step. The 2022 Budget Binder is the perfect place to start.
This year I’m continuing to offer the 2022 Budget Binder in a digital format. However, I’ve updated this digital budget template to follow a budget by paycheck method. If you’ve struggled to budget because you aren’t paid on a monthly basis, then I know you will find this way of budgeting so helpful! The 2022 Budget Template is the perfect way for you to keep your budget with you on the go. This Google Sheets template can be downloaded on any of your devices, will allow you to see a snapshot of your budget for 6-12 months, and will really help you save more, spend less, and pay off debt faster. You can see how this budgeting template is setup plus how to utilize all of its features by clicking here to view the How to Use the 2022 Budgeting Template video.
If you want to grab the 2022 Budget Template, you can check out all of our bundle options by clicking the link below!!
2022 Budget Binder
This year’s budget binder contains almost 200 printables to help you finally take control of your finances once and for all. The sheer size of this kit can seem overwhelming! But don’t worry, I’ve included an entire section on how to setup and print your binder kit at the very beginning! Plus, I’ve added individual monthly downloads within the kit so you can easily get to what you’re looking for.
Plus, I’ve created a YouTube video tutorial to help you get your 2022 Budget Binder setup for the upcoming year!
Use your 2022 Budget Binder to set both short term and long-term goals as well as plan ahead for future expenses. Plus, track your emergency fund, pay down debt quickly, and keep a running checklist of your bills paid so you never have to pay those annoying late fees again!
Each month contains 13 optional budgeting forms for you to use to keep your finances organized. You definitely won’t need all of them! The goal is for you to pick what will work for you and leave the rest! The great thing about the 2022 Budget Binder is that it’s so customizable to you, your family, and your budgeting needs.
Monthly Calendar
You will the option of printing a calendar to go along with your budget each month. Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to set monthly financial goals on each calendar. You can use these calendars to track monthly bills, due dates, pay days, and other monthly budget planning!
Monthly Budget Form
This year I’ve switched up the main monthly budgeting form just a bit. Instead of having optional forms based on when you’re paid, you will just print as many forms as you have pay periods for each individual month. This is the “Budget by Paycheck” method which has been working amazingly for our family for the past 16+ months. So instead of having to decide which form to use, just look at your pay schedule for each month and print as many monthly budget forms as you have pay periods!
All of your numbers will end up on this form! Start by plugging in your expected income. Then take the important stuff off the top before your money starts getting allocated to other places. This includes savings, retirement, college planning, and charitable giving or tithing. Total up this number and subtract it from your total income. This is what you will have leftover to budget for everything else!
You can also add in your “Cash Envelopes” and “Sinking Funds” to your Expenses as a single line item and grab those numbers from one of the future forms…we will get to those shortly! This saves space and brain power because we just have one number to add to our total instead of several.
Finally add up your total expenses on the bottom left. Then subtract your total expenses from your total income. You should end up with $0. If not, you will need to go back and make adjustments. This is a zero-based budget so every dollar in your budget has a specific name and job!
Sinking Funds
The next form is your SINKING FUNDS spreadsheet. This is where you will budget in everything you need to save for throughout the year. Just a few examples of sinking funds include:
- Christmas
- Vacation
- Medical/Dental Expenses
- Kid’s Expenses
- Insurance Premiums
- Car Replacement Savings
- Car Registration Expenses
- Home Maintenance
- Car Maintenance
This list is going to be very different for every family. Sinking funds are one of the best things you can do for your budget. This will almost completely eliminate those months when you are stressing out over all the “extras” that somehow popped into your budget. Remember, if we know it’s coming then it’s not an emergency. Let’s all start planning ahead for large expenses!
You will add up all the “additions” you plan to make to each fund. That total will be placed in your main budget form on the “SINKING FUNDS” section.
Cash Envelopes
Using cash is one of the key ingredients to this budget. However, I know carrying around cash just isn’t for all of us. This year you’ll find 2 optional cash envelope forms. And for one of them, you DON’T even have to use cash!!
If you plan to use cash, you’ll want to print one of the CASH ENVELOPE forms (on the left) for each of your pay periods. This allow you to track the cash you need to take out of the bank for things like groceries, entertainment, restaurants, personal spending, allowance, etc.
If you would prefer to use a debit or credit card, but still want to track your spending and stick to a budget, then you will use the CASH ENVELOPE TRACKER form (on the right). You will need to decide how many categories you want to track. You can track up to 2 categories with one form. So if you want to track 4 categories, print 2 forms for each pay period during the month. Just simply set your budget, plug in your transactions, and subtract as you go. Once you’ve spent all the money in that category, it’s time to stop spending!
This year, I’ve also added a single form where you can track both your sinking funds AND cash envelopes all on one page. So if you want to budget by paycheck, you may find that the main budget form and this form are all you need to track your finances for each pay period!
Irregular Income
If you receive any kind of irregular income each month, then the IRREGULAR INCOME form will be perfect for you! This could include overtime, second job income, or bonuses you might receive. This is a great way to pre-plan for income you may or may not receive. Having a plan in place will help that money not slip through your fingers!
At the beginning of the month, you will fill out the bottom half of this form. Prioritize how you plan to spend the money. Keep a running total on the far right. Once the money comes in, record it on the top half of this form. Then use your plan at the bottom to allocate that money to different places.
While I’m always an advocate for using cash (or debit cards) as much as possible, I know cash just isn’t for everyone. If you do plan to use credit cards, I believe the most responsible way is to continue to track your spending on each card or in each category. This will help you pay your cards off each month so you avoid those annoying (and expensive) fees!
So you can use our optional Credit Card Spending Trackers. You have two options you can use to track your spending while using a credit card. You can choose to track your spending by CARD or by BUDGET CATEGORY. This is just based on your personal preference.
Tracking by budget category means you’ll be able to see how much you spend on groceries, personal spending, gasoline, clothing, or any other category you want to track. Tracking by credit card means you’ll be able to easily see your total spending on each card and know how much you will owe on that specific card next month.
Charitable Donations Tracker
If you give regularly to either your church, non-profit organizations, missionaries, or any other type of donation, then it’s important that you track those amounts. They can be deducted on your taxes so having those numbers readily available can be so helpful.
This year you will have two forms to help you track your charitable donations. You can use the monthly Charitable Donations tracker form in each of the monthly packets to track your donations to multiple organizations. Then total up your monthly donations at the bottom.
You can then add your monthly totals to the annual Charitable Donations Tracker so you can have a full yearly overview of your donations. If you are someone who regular donates to organizations or tithes (giving 10% of your income) to your church, then I hope you find these forms helpful!
Monthly Goals + Notes
The last two forms in the monthly packs are the monthly budget goals & recap form and a blank notes page.
The goals and recap form is a great way to break apart your yearly goals into much more manageable monthly goals. You have space to track 2 financial goals on this form. Plus, it provides you will a space to recap your monthly money earned, spent, saved, and your monthly debt reduction.
This year I have continued the monthly NOTES page. This page is here for you to make notes throughout the month. Sometimes we just need a place to create lists, keep reminders, or plan out big ideas! Print a few of these pages for each month to add into your monthly budget for planning purposes.
Debt Snowball Trackers
You’ll have two options to choose from to track your debt payoff. Both forms allow you to track up to 4 debts for the entire year on one page. I recommend listing them from smallest to largest and then rolling all that extra income into paying them off quickly!
Yearly Budget Planning
There are also multiple ways to plan your budget for the entire year! First, there is an annual calendar for 2022. You can use this to track pay days, due dates for monthly bills, birthdays, holidays, and anything else you may need to plan ahead for!
You will also have the option of setting an annual budget. This is a great way to figure up how much you plan to spend in different categories throughout the entire year based on your expected net income. Remember, this is a plan and plans can change or be altered slightly as life happens! But its always great to be prepared.
Another form you may want to use is our Yearly Spending Tracker. This form allows you to choose multiple categories in which you want to track your spending for the entire year. Fixed expenses are pretty easy to track. It’s those fluctuating expenses that can really be budget busters! By tracking those expenses we can get a good visual of how much we are spending. This can be eye opening so I highly recommend you give this a try next year!
Spending Trackers + Budget Planners
The final part of the 2022 Budget Binder kit includes several spending trackers and budget planners.
Spending trackers are a great way for you to keep track of your spending. They are also a great tool for figuring out how much you should put into certain sinking funds each month. By using these forms, you can see from year to year what you spend on things like medical and dental bills, home maintenance, car maintenance, and many more!
You will also find 2 budget planners included in the 2022 Budget Binder. These budget planners are specifically for CHRISTMAS and VACATION budget planning. It’s a great way to see how much you need to save.
The vacation budget planner is a great way for you to stay on track during your vacation.
The Christmas budget planner will help you create a plan, set a budget, and stick to it! Plus, it reminds you of all the extras we often forget.
And that’s it! I hope you found this overview of the 2022 Budget Binder helpful. Make sure to head to this link to learn even more and grab your copy so you can get your budget organized and your finances under control in 2022!
If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to email me at kaitlin@thesimplyorganizedhome.com. 🙂