Budgeting For Beginners | How I Save 80% of My Income

[@EthanPatrick_CreditCards]

Tracking expenses is one of those things that feels like it won’t help, but pretty much always does. And treating your personal finances like a business is such great advice! Tons of value here Daniel!

[@Daniel_Braun]

Agreed! I think many people underestimate how much they really are spending, so diving into the numbers and tracking things in a more hand-on way seems to have really helped me get better with my money. Thanks Ethan!

[@colestony]

@@Daniel_BraunI think people’s addiction to consumerism clouds there judgement of what’s possible….beyond the addiction.

[@BobI-jb4rk]

Appreciate you having the balls to be so transparent and sharing your personal lifestyle & finances.

[@Daniel_Braun]

I always want this KZbin channel to be incredibly transparent about things going on in my own life and finances! Thanks for watching!

[@rafaleonard]

And to tell it like it is. I used to be afraid of finding exactly how much I was spending a month

[@_nstar]

I tried this template last month and I managed to save about $900 out of my $1600 I got paid total. This helped a lot, thank you!!

[@Daniel_Braun]

That is so awesome to hear! Congrats and thanks for using my template and leaving this feedback! 👍

[@rafaleonard]

This is the best advise I've heard on personal finances. What has taken me years to finally understand in a way that allows me to make adjustments to the way I spend my money, you explain perfectly in 16 mins. Good stuff!

[@MikeMaye]

Personal budgeting is something most people don't do including myself and it really helps when you have a template to track the process. I think for most it seems daunting, or they just don't want to know. Thanks for sharing this and super informative as always. Great vid Daniel💥

[@Daniel_Braun]

Yeah budgeting can be tough to get started with, but I know that it's brought me so much more peace just knowing exactly how I'm doing every month! Glad to hear you liked the video and appreciate your support as always Mike!

[@KenoSNeal]

My brother I just want to say from the bottom of my heart, thank you. You made this so easy and clear to follow. I've been spiraling trying to create my own templates, trying budgeting apps and browsing countless videos of mind boggling and uninspiring advice. This is a breath of fresh air. And especially thank you for going out of your way to share your template for free! It shows you genuinely care, and for that you earned a new sub my friend.

[@Daniel_Braun]

Thank you so much for saying that!! Really glad to hear that you're liking the free template - I'll have more stuff like that to come so thanks for subscribing as well!

[@Doublepulse]

I feel like you have to treat your personal finances like if you were running a business. Each Account is like it's own business and set of resources. One of the most straightforward videos I've seen that doesn't revolve around secrets, hacks or rules.

[@lobsangtenzing2013]

wish someone introduced this to me in my early 20's.

[@350GTxSiTH]

I started budgeting earlier this year using a similar template. And I must say it’s a great feeling zeroing in on where you are at financially. I’m definitely interested in using your template the beginning of the new year, because right now I’m just manually entering everything every month.

[@iGoByMatt]

Thank you. Finally got my ass budgeting at 26 years old. Great video, great tips, great editing, great delivery.

I’m 49 and just started budgeting in my 20,30 and early 40 I just paid all my bills and spending money without any thought

[@OregonsOutdoorAssets]

This video is everything I could ask for and more! I’m living paycheck to paycheck right now, but am getting a job as an LMT and will be making a lot more money and I need to know how to manage it. Thanks so much for the template and the detailed breakdown, it’s exactly what I needed. Cheers!

[@JakeVanderPloeg]

Great video Daniel! I've been using your budget template for the past 5 months and it's really helped me keep my finances on track! I'm now saving between 30-40% of my income (which in Chicago is pretty good😆) Appreciate you as always!

[@Daniel_Braun]

Great to hear that Jake! I love making these budgeting videos and getting more people to download that file - so awesome to see that you're saving that much in Chicago!

[@RampageMaximum]

Hi Daniel! I just watched your video on how to transfer points for Domestic flying and I can’t thank you enough for all the guides and hard work you do! You even created a sheet to help us understand travel alliances for flights. You’re the reason I got into the credit card game and because of that, I successfully booked a 4 night stay at Hyatt in Times Square with my points. Thank you for all you do! :)

[@Daniel_Braun]

That is so cool to hear you say all of that! Congrats on the successful deal in booking that Times Square hotel stay - enjoy! Appreciate you watching and downloading any of the templates and guides that I've posted. I've got plenty more similar content to come 👍

[@jj-bu6yb]

Can you please share that excel:)?

[@JazzyMarineVet]

RIGHT, i love these content creators, seemingly random guys/gals that show up in your feed. The information you can gather is as good, if not better than a undergraduate or graduate level college course in finance, travel...heck any number of topics. I look forward to see what shows up in my feed....so I can learn something new and be exposed to a different oppinion

[@Daniel_Braun]

@@jj-bu6yb Here’s that other video that was mentioned which has another Google Sheets template available to download: How to Redeem Credit Card Points (US Domestic Flights) kzbin.info/www/bejne/q3q8Y2luht14fac

[@jj-bu6yb]

@@Daniel_Braun Daniel, thank you for responding- not many KZbinrs do this - have blessing day

[@backtoashley]

I do a 50/30/20 model and each month when I have to approve my paycheck, I go through my bank account and see what I'm spending and put it in the various categories.... Each month I'm well below each category so I think I'm doing pretty good.... It's interesting to see the different budgeting models out there. I do tend to be a natural frugal spender anyway (only buying what I need), which I think is appearing to be helpful in overall building wealth.

[@BenFranklin1776]

You can use EXCEL'S data validation options to make that blue column only have certain choices. They'd appear in a dropdown and you could autocomplete that way too. If you typed "R" then Rent would be the top option left.

[@Falling2311]

thank you so much for creating this template. Pre-Covid I did almost exactly this but Covid + Isolation + Staying In = Increase in Depression & Anxiety and I stopped. Every time I tried to recreate my template it became so overwhelming while recreating the categories, functions, formulas, and adding up the expenses, I would just give up. Now that all I need to do is plug stuff in, I feel like I can get back on track. thank you, thank you, thank you.

[@DaVillain06]

Thank you so much! I learned a lot from this video alone, I'll be following all your content to learn more and keep track of my personal finances. Thanks for the free template this is very detailed and easy to use.

[@Daniel_Braun]

Thanks for watching and so glad to hear you liked the video and the free template!

[@waibosibili8546]

Tracking can be hard but it pays off. Started this year well atleast to save. ❤

[@trevorjones7523]

Excellent tip about managing your finances like a business. I truly believe concepts transfer, not just in finances but in process and development (innovation) too.

[@BLANK2729]

I’m 28 years old with 2 kids and I’ve been living paycheck to paycheck since I was 13. Imma give this a try but to be honest I really enjoyed your video. I’ll see you guys in 3months.

[@fredericktheconquer6140]

Did it work for you

[@BLANK2729]

@@fredericktheconquer6140 I lost my job so I haven’t really been able to try.

[@lookherelooklisten7850]

To save 80% of an income you need to be earning nearly 120k a year, you can not save 80 or 50% of income if you earn 40-45k a year

[@donaldlyons17]

Yeah you might be right!!! My income is about 43K which is about $2,800 which is about $33,600 per year. After paying for everything the average would only be 5K so yet your totally right!!!

[@erburu]

This definitely does not work as well if you live in a thirld-world country lol

[@dragonblazzer9698]

Obviously you need a high income to save more. He's not bragging, he's just showing discipline. Doesn't mean we all have to save 80%. For example, I make only 40k a year, but I save 30% of my income, in one of the most expensive cities in the world.. So it's possible.

[@donaldlyons17]

@@dragonblazzer9698 How so you do realize to save requires more than income... so of it came down to low expenses too.... And to say it is possible just ignores why it works.... Sometimes it is impossible because math just is math so it can't always be possible...

[@Gati1313]

Or just stop eating 5 days a week, ride a bike, live in your car 😝

[@act110mort048]

This is a great video. I know that money means having to budget for rent, utilities, phone bills and groceries, but most people tend to forget that the food and diet aspect of budgeting (i.e. groceries) is very important. After all, if you're out of shape, there's a higher risk of getting disease. So, in the end, you'll pay more for medical bills. It's true when they say, "Health is wealth."

[@gramnet]

This budget worksheet is amazing it leaves nothing unknown. Thank you. I downloaded it. This is really going to help when I open my HYSA and Roth IRA soon.

[@The_Dapper_Millennial]

Thanks for this Daniel. No matter how much I tried to save, I always seemed to come up broke. I'm going to implement this and check it every day to start really tracking everything and understanding where my money is going. My goal is to get the money I currently have under control via a budget, and then focus on increasing my income. Many thanks again. 🙏

[@grogu_2003]

Hey bro! Has it helped?

[@The_Dapper_Millennial]

@@grogu_2003Yes it has. I can now go back and look at everything I’ve spent money on, and see how much savings I’ll have for the month.

[@GrimTactics6226]

I make $19/hr full time, rent alone is one of my two paychecks 😂 50% of my income is housing I’d say if you make a lot of money 80% could be doable but it’s very unrealistic for most people unfortunately

[@donaldlyons17]

No way they make content for most people… doubt it would get views

[@N0_UNITY]

what type of work do you do? I’m struggling to create another source of income. due to my schedule it’s hard.

[@GrimTactics6226]

@@N0_UNITY I was a home delivery driver at carmax till I was laid off pretty sure they got rid of the entire position and carmax required your schedule to be open for full time

[@davidmcclenton948]

I feel you. Saving 80% of a monthly income? How is that possible if you have to pay rent and want to eat? At best I could save 10% maybe 15% be t definitely not 80%

[@mauriciojimenez2905]

Vote Trump

[@meoeacishbouldin9528]

This video was really helpful. It made me realize an additional step I need to do with my current budget. And I love the visuals. The best budgeting information I’ve seen so far.

[@Nopeful]

0:00 - December budget overview; saving 80% of income. 0:11 - Previous savings rates: 60% last year, 0% five years ago. 0:30 - Introduction of a budgeting template and four money frameworks. 1:11 - 1. Run Yourself Like A Profitable Business 2:00 - Estimating income and expenses for effective budgeting. 4:00 - Common issue: underestimating monthly expenses. 4:47 - 2. Track Your Spending for 2-3 Months 6:21 - Importance of tracking actual income and expenses. 9:11 - Budgeting template helps visualize spending habits. 10:29 - Profit at the end of the month should be invested or saved. 11:43 - 3. Focus on cutting large big, then small 14:42 - 4. Decreasing Expenses Is Good, But Increasing Income Is Better 15:49 - Personal experience: growing income through side hustles. 16:10 - Downloadable budgeting template and net worth tracker available.

[@nhuphuong060688]

Your template is really great! I've explored several templates over the years and kinda settled on one of my own creation until I found yours today! So very smart! Thanks a ton!!

[@ABasedTohan]

Bro this is right on time much appreciated just downloaded the spreadsheet, great breakdown

[@Daniel_Braun]

Love to hear that! Thanks so much for watching and downloading the spreadsheet - I hope it helps 👍

[@laundrygoddess4]

I've been doing a similar style of spreadsheet budgeting for 3 decades.... I've never been able to save 80%. Little unrealistic for almost everyone

[@doctork1708]

Exact. You have to make a lot of income to do that.

[@donaldlyons17]

It might be the conditions might matter even more than income. Example from 2009 till at least 2011 I was able to live on 13K to 14K largely due to cheap housing prices while making 20K.

[@laundrygoddess4]

@@donaldlyons17 I've always had high medical costs but I'm in Canada where housing is much higher than the USA. I had a strict budget and could never save most of my income much less 80%. That's a real stretch anywhere unless you make obscene money

[@donaldlyons17]

@@laundrygoddess4 Well I would have though so too but consider this: if I make $600 a month yet my total bills are $400 a month I can still save 2K maybe BUT if I make 100K yet my bills are 101K I am likely broke each month. Not sure what the original host makes but it might be one of those situations.

[@laundrygoddess4]

@@donaldlyons17 then the title shouldn't be budgeting for beginners....

[@iliketrains0pwned]

Thanks Dan! I have my own budget template I designed a while back in Excel. But I'll admit, it's gotten so complex that it looks like the flight deck for a Space Shuttle lol. Your design is going to be extremely helpful with simplifying things back down again!

[@druiz012]

Love this video, Daniel! I'm glad you're delving into personal finance!

[@Daniel_Braun]

Thanks David, great to hear that you liked this video! Yeah I'm going to be expanding the channel to some other related personal finance areas that have been important to my life as well - on top of the normal credit card content of course!

[@mollylanigan1726]

Thank you so much for the free budget template, so appreciate it

[@denisquenneville8032]

Thank you for the great budget template and different approach to budgeting.

[@ninathecrab]

Thank you! This was so clear and helpful. Thank you for income transparency as well

[@lydianoelll]

I can't wait to start using this template, just downloaded it! Thank you!

[@boomshine7]

how to save 80% of your income, step 1, get a big income ... I better start working on this

[@timosborn2441]

Thoughts on how to account for things that you don't pay for monthly within this spreadsheet? For example, paying car insurance every 6 months or saving for a vacation once a year.

[@carliem9494]

That’s a very useful spreadsheet - lot of thought and work in its creation. Thank you for sharing it

[@whyhavingfun]

Thanks so much for your video, SoFi is amazing!

[@Daniel_Braun]

Thanks for watching! Agreed, SoFi is great!

[@jon-michaelchanner4998]

My man had to flex on us at the end 😂. All jokes. Just shows hard work and dedication truly pays off. It's justified . Great video Dan

[@juliancen2815]

Great video Daniel! I will implement this for the new year. Thank you so much

[@ericb8030]

What I do differently in my spread sheet is average expenses from last year as a monthly comparison point

[@teena_love]

Very good video! The only thing I don’t do is calculate my actual spending. I take mental notes but it’s not as effective as seeing the actual numbers. Like he said we underestimate. I’m actually old school (as young as I am) I like to do book and pencil for my budgeting. Thank you for this video

[@blake3654]

Needed This Daniel, thank you

[@sahilpatel5298]

Dear Daniel, I wanted to thank you for sharing your insights and providing such a helpful Excel sheet. As a recent college graduate who will be starting a full-time job soon, your advice has been incredibly valuable to me. Your video has given me a better understanding of how to manage my finances and set realistic goals for my future. I appreciate the effort you put into creating this content and making it accessible to people like me. I have subscribed to your channel and look forward to learning more from you. Thank you again for all that you do! -Sahil

[@Daniel_Braun]

Thanks for watching and subscribing Sahil! Glad to hear that you liked this video and the budgeting template, hopefully it will be helpful as you start your full time job!

[@thewrldvsap23]

This has truly given me a clear and focus mind on where my money is going. thank you 🤑😁

[@TT-wj9tn]

Im glad you mentioned the 80% saving due to youtube.... To many BS videos trying to downplay KZbin which leds to false expectations. My savings rate is 46-50%, and i found it hard to do.

[@Under510]

Smart budgeting skills unlocked! 😤Thanks for the tips, Daniel 🙌

[@Cookiesandcream1990]

Thank you very much. I had no idea how to even start.

[@kaybicksler]

Can you make a video about how you create the spreadsheet

[@BudgetBae_1]

Super helpful & love that the vid is quick and to the point!

[@leeallsopp5152]

Very informative and a great video , Thank you Daniel

[@SpongeEvan]

Thanks Daniel! This is so needed for me being a Ph.D. student and planning for many international conferences next year 😂

[@Daniel_Braun]

No problem, thanks for watching! Yeah that can get expensive with all of those international conferences and travel haha - definitely good to track things

[@MCAROMUSIC]

GReat Video Brother!!!!!

[@ronnorman2]

New subscriber! I enjoy your content.

[@Daniel_Braun]

Thank you so much for subscribing, Ron! I really appreciate it!

[@felanderson]

Hey, if anyone else is using this sheet, I found adding data validation drop downs to Column G (actual expenses categories) drawn from Column A (Expected expense categories) it flows a little easier when logging your expenses because you cant get the category wrong :)

[@ryanchahbouni]

the link for the sheet isnt working i havent recieved any emails from u

[@wealthelife]

With your budget showing about $72Kpa in expenses, it seems like your 80% savings rate is due more to having a high income than budgeting prowess ;)

[@donaldlyons17]

Yeah but is that not normally the case. Marriage with kids and his wife were making 200K a year at one point so they were able to save 1 million over a 10 year period. They literally made most of that million based on the money alone. The creator is just confirming income matter most!!!!!!

[@chones_]

Step 1: make a lot of money. Step 2: see step 1.

[@Daniel_Braun]

Income is always gonna be a huge part of increasing the savings rate for anyone. But tracking the spending and getting expenses under control with a budget is for sure the first step to take!

[@sws2552]

How do you do this monthly? Do you duplicate the spreadsheet so you can keep a history of each month or do you erase all of the expense data each month and start over? or..? Thanks!

[@Daniel_Braun]

Yeah just duplicate the spreadsheet month after month so that you can track it throughout the year 👍

[@sws2552]

@@Daniel_Braun Thank you! I would find a video on how you consolidate all 12 months at the end of the year into one total report with tips for assessing and improving very helpful 🙏🏻

[@versatilepal4117]

Thank you so much for sharing the template with us. 🤝🙏

[@wdeemarwdeemar8739]

This is great! Thank you!

[@Daniel_Braun]

Love to hear that! Happy to help, and thanks for watching!

[@heatherhanselmann8209]

How do we add in the function that is setup for the categories and automatically filling in the dollar amount in the actual amount section? I have a transaction that was used to fund a brokerage account. I’d like to have that automatically recognize the value Brokerage in the Places to Move Profit in the category column in Actual Expenses and to add the dollar amount to the actual amount column of Places to Profit.

[@tmglvr]

Thanks for XL - easy peasy....appreciate it!

[@Savior1901]

Caleb Hammer would be proud!!

[@AArmstrongC]

thanks for sharing!!! "SumIF" was the missing key for my budgeting sheet

[@jimjam2095]

Solid video, thank you. Any advice on learning how to make google docs like this? I have trouble understanding some of the commands you talked about, thank you. Have a great day!

[@Daniel_Braun]

Thanks for watching! Glad to liked it 👍 I would definitely just recommend KZbin for tutorials. I learned some Excel and Google Sheets skills from different jobs that I've had in my career, but I also reference KZbin and Google whenever I need help with something specific

[@BrisaniAshley]

This is awesome!! Thank you for this video!

[@progaminghours3854]

do u think having a fixed amound for investing every month is a good idea? if so how can I add it to your sheet

[@armochildrocks]

Do credit Card Payments get categorized under the expenses column? and should i create a category specifically for CC Payments?

[@mariesaver7184]

Looking so forward to your Excel, thanks for offering it for free to US ❤

[@chubbywolf3517]

How do you track credit cards? Also how do you have months to compare weekly? Just copy and paste?

[@toby.schons]

How do you budget for large expenses?

[@tomperr5291]

Super dumb question but would we calculate our credit card min payment in the expected column or how would we really track it since the payments go up and down.

[@DZB331]

You should come to prince of travel summit in April in Toronto. Gonna be a great time ! All about travel redemptions and credit cards

[@mihaelafulga4290]

If I would have had someone like you to explain budgeting and credit cards as a teenager, it would have saved me a lot of hard learned lessons, stress, money and time. Thank you for doing this for the people that need it, especially the ones at the start of their journey called life. I’m always looking out for learning new ways of managing finances and share it with my children. Some people explain better than others.

[@tomvj15]

i am not getting this template ....! video is so nice and clear

[@reubenwhiteside6543]

Hi, thanks so much for the video, just wondering if there's a way to change the currency of the template to pounds as I'm in the UK? Thanks again!

[@F3LLAROX]

How do you do it with a partner? Do you manage everything and review her receipts to sort the expenses correctly? Have her spend on her own type of budget? Does she actively follow the same template for her expenses? Contribute to this same sheet?

[@LiamBuehler]

Amazing video man thank you.

[@JadeIsStudying.Shhhhhh]

How do you budget when you're on irregular shifts (not the same number of hours each week) while on an hourly rate?

[@danielcurtis1288]

Take your average monthly take home pay or ideally budget off of your worst month. If you can make ends meet on your worst month then you are in a great position.

[@cloebuckley7340]

This template is great! I’m just having issues with the profit/savings rate rows. I know it’s me being silly but how do we get the formula to recognise and fill that slot in?

[@peytonrogers8387]

Could you show us how to do the format to do the auto move from amount paid to actual amount please mine won’t do it😢

[@theressomuchtowaitforseein3465]

Would you consider health insurance as saving or as exppense?

[@bryanesquivel8784]

Hey daniel, how can i add more categories in the excel sheet?

[@0205nathalie]

Thanks for the great video and template. Unfortunately as I type in the actual expenses(green) it's not being reflected in the expenses budget (green) on the left automatically even though the categories are identical. I doubled clicked on the cell, but nothing happened.

[@Harshinstinct]

Do you make a new copy for each month? Wondering how that works

[@Daniel_Braun]

Yeah! Just right click on the tab at the bottom and create a new copy each month so that you can track throughout the year

[@rileypreston4241]

Very new to excel so have some grace but how would you add another category line so that it works with the formula the same as the others?

[@hassansyed6087]

Sorry, I might have missed something or am about to ask a really stupid question but, How did you save 80% when your rent alone takes 1 whole paycheck ($100 left over) since it's $1600

[@Wisco212]

Im confused by the expected profit(income-expenses). If I have left over and then go down to places to move profit, it seems to add more savings instead of moving the profit . Please explain

[@MattWelterOfficial]

Super admirable Daniel! Coming off paying for a wedding, I'm trying to get my Savings Rate as high as possible to make up for some of that high expense 😂. Love to see your Savings Rate so high and the progress that you've made with it!

[@Daniel_Braun]

Haha I hear ya about those high wedding expenses - I'm going through some of that right now! Appreciate you watching Matt!

[@andrewmathias52]

Love this budget template! I'm having trouble understanding the places to move profit section. If I have for example $500 in profit in B37 and I input that I'm moving all $500 into a high yield savings so I put $500 in B42 then the formula shows my total to be $1000. It should be $0 right? As in I have $0 left after expenses and moving money to savings?

[@Daniel_Braun]

Thanks for downloading it! So when you enter the numbers in the places to move profit, you have to enter it as a negative number. So for moving $500 to the savings account, just enter that as -$500 and that should work so that it’s zeros out at the bottom

[@francogozzarelli3022]

is there any way i can get this template ?

[@gerhardsmith185]

what would be the easiest way to change the currency or symbol across the entire template without affecting formulas etc?

[@cgonzalezani]

So I use this budget only for the month? and then copy and paste template for a new month yes?

[@Scandal247]

I like this template and how it can give me an idea on where I’m at

[@tiffhubbard4116]

Amazing video! Thank you!

[@robertamazyck1861]

Question On the budget, What category do you put the tax preparer fee?

[@adonai.films.]

when do you set you expense columns to start a new month sense I get payed on the 15th and the 30th of every month.