Easy Budget Trackers That Will Save Your Finances

Bullet Journal Budget Trackers are just one of the ways you can use your planner to make your budget work for you.  Read on for some great ideas and examples for you to try.

Bullet Journal Budget Trackers

Since I’ve started using my bullet journal I’m finding it so much easier to stay organized. 

Well, maybe not easier, it does take some practice, but at least everything’s in one place now.

I know there are some people out there who love tracking their money but I am definitely not one of them.  I want to ignore it all and just hope that it’s there when I need some!

But back to reality, I do understand that I have to keep track of my budget somehow.  By making it look pretty with checkboxes and flowers I’m finding that it makes it much easier to keep my attention.

I’m researching a lot of different ideas about bullet journal budget trackers.  I’m hoping that some of these will inspire you to start tracking your budget, expenses and savings too. 

Remember that the whole idea behind a bullet journal is to make processes easier, so pick something that’s easy to use.   It’s okay to copy someone else’s idea and use it until you find what process works the best for you.

It’s not going to work if you don’t use it.

If you haven’t already started your bullet journal yet then you should definitely check out How To Start A Bullet Journal

If you’re thinking about starting a finance tracker, or you’re looking for some new ideas then just follow along!

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There are really two steps to using financial trackers. 

The first step is to start tracking your money.  You have to be able to see where the money is going to make a plan for it.

The second step is setting some goals and then working toward them.  

I’ve sorted the list that way to make it easier for each stage.

Step 1 – Bullet Journal Budget Trackers for Bills

You have to start at the beginning before you can move on to the more advanced.  Or at least that’s the theory. 

If you’re not keeping a budget right now, you might want to start off with an expense tracker or a bill tracker.  Once you get a feel for tracking, add in some goals and more advanced savings plans.

Things you might keep track of in these finance spreads are:

• Bills – weekly, monthly or annual bills
• Subscriptions
• Automatic Payments
• Debts – include your loans and credit cards

Here are some ideas for you to check out and see which ones will work for you, or which ones inspire you to build something of your own.

It will be easier to see where your money is going once you start tracking it.

Bullet Journal Monthly Finance Tracker

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This is a one page Monthly Budget Expense Tracker  by @Journal.It.  It’s easily divided into weekly columns so that it can be updated throughout the month. 

Alla changes her design each month but her format remains largely the same, with weekly columns and totals that are updated throughout the month. 

Adding in your expenses each week makes it easy to sit down one day each week and add up your receipts.

Bullet Journal Monthly Finance Tracker

This tracker by @cardigansandchamomile is a step forward from just tracking your expenses.  It has an overview of her budget on the left and plenty of room for tracking on the right. 

There’s plenty of room to record all the information that you need for tracking your budget here.  Be sure to put in the date a bill is due or the date that it’s withdrawn automatically from your account.  Then you can check it off when it’s paid.

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You could take this idea and use one page to track daily or weekly expenses when you’re ready to get that detailed with your tracker.
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This is a great way to keep track of all the money coming into and out of your accounts.  You need to know this to be able to set goals for your finances.  Getting all this information down on paper may surprise you, you might not realize where all your money is being spent if you’re just checking your balance on your phone screen.
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And then you can get creative and make your tracker decorative.

For me, I love it when it looks pretty, it makes me more excited to use it!

Are you looking for ways to make your bullet journal work better?  Check out these hacks to make your planner more productive!

Step 2 – Bullet Journal Budget Trackers for Financial Goals

It’s time to set some goals. 

Now that we’ve been tracking our money for awhile we can set some goals!

It’s been proven over and over that  if you write something down (set a goal) you are more likely to achieve it.  Let’s get those goals down on paper and start working toward them!

These are the budget trackers and journals that will help you reach your money goals. 

These goals can be for saving money, you can save for a long term goal or just for a weekend trip. 

They can also be goals of paying down debt or building a long term savings account.

Bullet Journal Savings Tracker

This is a fun to use savings tracker from Pinterest.  If you’re saving for a large expense, like a house, you can watch your savings grow by coloring in the bricks.  In this example each brick is worth $100. 

I know you creatives can come up with so many ways to modify this for whatever you’re saving for.

Bullet Journal Financial Goals

Financial Goals Downloadable

This is a great Budget Planner that you can fill in for any type of financial goal.  Choose one, two or three goals to concentrate on and make them happen.  Pick a financial goal and set a timeframe to reach it. 

Be sure that you’re setting a goal that you can reach, not something impossible. 

Break that goal down into manageable chunks and figure out how you can reach it.

If your goals is to save $1000 by Christmas, that’s less than $100/month that you need to save.  Break it down by the week or by the paycheck and then note how you can achieve it.  If you take your lunch instead of eating out or skip one activity per week you’ll be able to save that money and mark it on your tracker.

Download your financial goals tracker as a PDF to use until you create a version that works for you!

Bullet Journal Debt Tracker

This Bullet Journal Debt Tracker by @sydneysbulletjournal is on one page with a Savings Tracker on the second page of the spread.

Whether you have student loans to pay off, credit cards or a house payment, this is a great visual to show your progress on paying these items off. 

No goal is impossible to reach.

Setting a goal and committing it to paper is a great way to make progress toward it.

I know once you start bubbling in these squares you’ll be super motivated to finish!

Bullet Journal Emergency Fund

Here’s a cute idea for saving up for an emergency fund.  Take random amounts and place them on each of the coins and then color those in as you add that much to the fund.  They can be as small as $1 and as big as you’d like. 

The goal is to get that emergency fund built up.

Or you can make it into a vacation fund, a new house fun. Whatever fund you want to save for.

An emergency fund is not really a luxury, it’s a necessity.  Unexpected expenses can blow anyone’s budget and take awhile to recover from.  This tracker helps motivate you to save for those budget busters that are no fun.  The next time your car breaks down it won’t be quite as stressful if you know you’ve got the money in the bank to cover the expense.
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Which of the Bullet Journal Budget Trackers did you like the Best?

We all have bills to pay and we all need to have systems in place to take care of them. 

Money is a tool that we can use to improve our lives. 

This requires us to be mindful about our money but we don’t need to obsess about it.  Using these budget trackers can help you get your budget in line and help you set up some long term goals.

Once you start using a system, you will find that it’s much easier to set and reach your goals.  That’s the beauty of goals – they set a bar for your to reach. 

You can start with a few short term goals and once you reach them, well the sky’s the limit!

Here’s to your bright future and financial freedom!

Be sure to save this to Pinterest so you can find it later and check out some more Bullet Journal Hacks.

Follow us on Pinterest and on Instagram for lot’s more ideas and inspiration!