Dark Mode Budget Planner Spreadsheet for Google Sheets and Excel

LEAN MONTH BUDGET PLANNER FOR GOOGLE SHEETS AND EXCEL

A budget planner in a dark theme for people whose income changes from month to month, like freelance, shifts or tips. It builds your budget on the lowest month you can count on, not the average.
Sets aside tax from every payment the day it arrives, and has a plan ready for the lean month before it starts.

📊 WHAT IT DOES

✓ Floor: what a month costs before anything optional, in dollars and in hours of your work.
✓ Baseline: twelve months of income against the lowest month you can truly count on.
✓ Buffer: the bucket that fills in a good month and pays out when a month does not reach the floor.
✓ Taxes: the tax share of every client payment goes to its own pot the day it arrives.
✓ Last month: spend this month what you earned last month, so a slow month never catches you mid-month.
✓ Lean month: the plan for the month that pays badly, made in a calm one.
✓ Savings first: savings go out on payday, before anything else, and what is left is the budget.
✓ Debt: every debt with its balance, rate and minimum payment, and which one to pay first.
✓ Wishlist: things you want, priced in hours of your own work.

📂 WHAT'S INSIDE: 30 TABS AND 73 CHARTS

✓ Start with these: Home, Start here, Setup, Income, Spending
✓ Month by month: This month, Floor, Baseline, Buffer, Last month, Savings first
✓ What you have and owe: Bills, Subscriptions, Accounts, Taxes, Debt, Goals, Net worth
✓ Patterns over time: Months, Categories, Lean month, Year
✓ Wants and shared costs: Wishlist, Shared, Settle up
✓ Routine and help: Check-in, Catch-up, Notes, Read me, Free gift

📝 HOW IT WORKS

1. Open the PDF and click the link to make your own copy in Google Sheets. Or open the Excel file.
2. On Start here, fill in the shaded cells: your name, an hour of your work, your baseline, buffer size, savings-first amount and your tax share.
3. Add each payment on Income with the hours it took, and log each purchase on Spending.
4. Everything else fills in by itself. Home shows what you earned, what you spent, the buffer and your lowest month.

📥 WHAT YOU GET

✓ Google Sheets version (the link is in the PDF)
✓ Excel version (.xlsx) for desktop Excel on Windows or Mac
✓ A filled example to look around, and a blank copy for your own data
✓ A PDF with the links and the first steps
✓ A video guide for this planner (the link is in the PDF)

💻 GOOD TO KNOW

✓ Works with a free Google account. No add-ons, no subscription, no bank connection.
✓ Type only in the shaded cells. Formulas are protected, so you can't break them by accident.
✓ Best on a computer. The Google Sheets app works for quick entries on your phone.
✓ Amounts show in dollars. The formulas work the same in any currency.
✓ The Excel version may look slightly different from the photos (fonts, colors, charts). The photos show Google Sheets.
✓ English only. Not made for Apple Numbers.
✓ Free updates for life.

This is a digital download. Nothing will be shipped. Because it is a digital file, it can't be returned, but if anything is unclear, message me and I will help you set it up.
This planner is a tool for your own records, not financial advice.