Six years of budgeting in a spreadsheet
I started budgeting for the first time about six years ago with a basic spreadsheet and very simple formulas. The one habit that changed everything was tracking my expenses daily. It sounds small, but actually seeing where my money went — category by category — gave me clarity I never had before. Using frameworks like the 50/30/20 rule gave me a north star to work toward.
Over the next couple of years, I kept optimizing. I dialed in how much income was coming in, how much was going to my 401(k) and savings accounts, how I was splitting bills with my spouse, and I built a real-time progress indicator that showed me during the month whether I was ahead or behind on spending. That visibility changed everything — I finally felt comfortable because I knew exactly where I stood.
When friends and family started asking about my spreadsheet, I shared it, got their feedback, and realized this could help a lot more people. With over 12 years of UX and visual design experience, I cleaned it up and turned it into a real product — focused on being simple, easy to use, and solving one problem well. It's now one of the bestselling budget spreadsheets on Etsy.
Read the full story →