Bullet Journal Budget Tracker Ideas To Organize Your Finances
Today we will finally tackle finances and what Bullet Journal page ideas can help you organize your money.
For someone like me, who definitely has a shopping addiction, especially if we are talking about stationery shopping, financial spreads are a must-have.
I’ve been doing my finances mostly in Google Sheets, but the deeper I went into money management, the more I realized how much better it would be to actually use my Bullet Journal.
So here we are; I’ll be sharing with you all the ideas for the Bullet Journal budget tracker and other pages to bring financial planning to your journal!
Keeping up with money sounds like a very daunting, scary, and boring chore, but believe me, it’s not as bad as it sounds.
Of course, when you sit down to get organized the first time, it might take a while, but once your system is cracked, it will be as easy as pie! (Now I want some pie…)
Keeping an eye on your finances can help you so much!
In this blog post, I gathered plenty of ideas and inspirations for pages in your Bullet Journal that can help you with money management, together with some tips and recommendations.
I’ve been journaling since 2018, and I’ve created a few finance-related pages myself, but my layouts are limited by how I manage my finances, so in this post I’ll share a lot of pages from other creators so you get different approaches and design inspirations.
But before you take a pen and start planning your pages, here is something important you should think about.
Figure Out Your Financial Situation
Before we dive into the pages, it’s important for you to know where you are in your financial journey. This will help you figure out which exact pages would work best for you and your needs.
Get a cup of tea and your comfy blanket, grab your pen and journal, and brainstorm a bit about where you’re at with your finances and what you need help with.
Here are a few questions you might want to ask yourself:
- What are my current financial struggles?
- How do people I admire manage their money? (Here I probably mean people whose financial management you admire, rather than just their personality. Even though it can totally be both)
- What are some of my financial goals?
- What habits do I want to develop when it comes to money management? (like a habit of tracking your expenses can absolutely do wonders for you!)
- What are some money habits I need to get rid of?
Be honest! Nobody else will see these, but you have to answer these questions so you can build a financial system with your Bullet Journal that can help you achieve your goals.
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Stationery Recommendations
Let’s also have a quick word on some supplies that you’ll find useful when creating these pages.
- A notebook, obviously your Bullet Journal. Even though it might be a fun idea to use a notepad and put your savings tracker in some visible place where you can see it every day.
- Fineliners, which are the blood of your Bullet Journal, I think. I love Sakura Pigma Micron the most for the smooth black ink and variety of line thicknesses they provide.
- Markers, in case you like to add color. I’m obsessed with my Zebra Mildliners, but if you’re on a budget, Crayola Super Tips would be my close second.
Now that you have all your supplies prepared, let’s get into it.
Bullet Journal Finance Trackers
There are plenty of different pages and ideas here, but the first thing you need to decide is the time frame you want to use for all these trackers.
There are tons of options for you to monitor your finances:
- Weekly
- Bi-weekly
- Monthly
- By quarter
- Half a year
- Yearly
Which format should you choose? I don’t know. Different things work for different people. My best tip would be to try it all and see what works.
Personally, weekly and bi-weekly is not an option I like – it’s too often, and it doesn’t give a proper overview of expenses.
My choice is to track monthly. Since my paycheck also comes on a monthly basis, it helps me to get a better picture of what’s happening with my money.
Quarter, half a year, or yearly is a bit too long for me, but who knows, it might be the perfect time frame for you!
Ok, you’ve made all the decisions, so let’s just look at what kind of pages and trackers you can utilize to take control of your finances. And if after this post you still need more inspiration, check a few links at the end of this post.
Expense Tracker
Ok, this is the obvious one, but you definitely will get so much out of this simple exercise!
Nowadays, when a lot of payments are cashless, it’s easy to lose track of money and overspend on things you don’t really need.
If you have an expenses tracker, you’ll basically be able to clearly see your spending habits and how you can improve them.
It will also help you to stay within a budget and not overspend since you’ll always have the number in front of you.
Here is a simple tracker I created as an example. Personally, I usually use an app to track my expenses, but if I were to use my BuJo, it would’ve been in this format.
I find it is very important to divide the payment type, whether I paid with a debit or credit card. That helps me to keep an eye on my money, ensuring that I don’t spend more money than I have, which is very easy to do with a credit card.
Bullet Journal Expense Tracker Inspirations
Just because an expense tracker is a pretty straightforward table-style page doesn’t mean you can’t make it look different, so here are some inspirations from other creators.
Beautiful lettering on the header of this page!
And I really like how all the expenses are divided into different categories. It’s always useful when you later analyze what exactly you spend your money on.
I always love the pages by Flying Paper Words; the handwriting is always so perfect I can’t stop admiring it.
I’m also very impressed by how straight and organized this layout looks, even though there are no lines dividing the content.
Bullet Journal Bill Tracker
Paying your bills on time is a must and can be beneficial for you, allowing you to grow your credit score, get better loans, and generally sleep calmly knowing you got it all covered.
But chances are, you have a lot of different bills to pay, and it can be daunting and confusing to remember it all.
I always struggle with that since I have different bank accounts in different countries to pay different bills, so I always need to remember when and from which card they will charge me, so I make sure I have enough money in the account.
Ok, now I re-read that it totally sounds a bit shady, but it’s not like I’m evading taxes or anything. That’s just a reality of expat life; not all the things when it comes to international payments are available to me in just one country, so I have to juggle.
Knowing when your bills are due and how much will help you manage your finances better, plan your expenses better, and never forget to pay them.
Bill Tracker Bullet Journal Pages
There are many different creative ways to track your bills; this page doesn’t have to be boring or mundane. So here are a few inspirations from some immensely talented creators.
If you want to do an annual bills tracker, this page is a great inspiration. I love how neatly all bills are included here.
For me, it wouldn’t work since, for some reason, I always have some random bills changing during the year. But if your life is more stable, this can be a good option.
Hayley always has the most magical and beautiful pages; her watercolor borders here are incredible.
This is another example of a yearly bills tracker, but I love that there are also other areas here, like income and savings. It’s kind of a great yearly overview of finances.
A stricter way to divide your expenses: create separate boxes for each category.
For me, it’s not that good because it’s kind of not so good at coming up with exact categories, but if you already figured it out, this format will be perfect!
Before we go to the next page idea, I also want to mention that in my shop you can get some printable bill tracking stickers.
These fun little guys can help you easily stay on top of your finances and will make your page look good doing it!
Be sure to check my shop and, of course, let me know in the comments if you have any other things you’d like me to add there, like more printables or more functional stickers.
Bullet Journal Budget Spread
Creating a budget is really the key to success.
It might take a while to figure out the exact number you might need in different spending categories. And of course, you always have to be ready for some unexpected charges.
However, you’ll figure it out eventually as you keep your spending tracker.
I like creating monthly budget pages – sometimes in my Bullet Journal, sometimes in an app I’m using.
This for me is basically like a money envelope system – as soon as I get paid, I allocate money to each category and each type of expense, and this is it. If I overspend in one category during the month, I’ll have to take the money from another one. And of course, the final amount of money per month can’t exceed the total.
For me, this helps me gain control over my spending and gives me a good idea of what I can afford that month.
To make it easier visually, I also divided it into different categories so that I can also see where my priorities should go.
Budget Spread Inspirations
This is how I plan my budget, but there are plenty more approaches and styles, and below I gathered a few examples for you to check out.
Love how happy and colorful this spread is. The bubble lettering is also great, and I love that it has those little white lines to add more dimension to the letter.
I also like how there is the area for the budget and the area for the actual budget. We all know that things don’t always go according to plan, especially if we are talking about money. So it’s great to check yourself and see how far off your budget evaluation was.
Love this spread and the flatlay – they are so colorful and make me want to smile.
I also think it’s very useful to have the budget planned week by week; it’s a much easier thing to tackle.
What an awesome and organized way to create a monthly budget!
I like that she has so many categories and even some subcategories for the monthly budget. Plus extra useful to have a budget for emergencies – you never know what can happen.
Subscriptions Tracker
How many subscriptions do you pay for? I can’t really remember them all. Statistically, an average American spends around $200 a month on different subscriptions!
Having a better understanding of your subscriptions will definitely help you with your money management.
So try to do an audit of all your subscriptions and write down when and how much you have to pay. It will help you, first of all, to always pay it on time, but also maybe see that there are some you can cut off and save the money instead.
Or spend it on some cool stationery. Dealer’s choice!
And check out where else your money is going; there are probably a few subscriptions you signed up to try out and forgot, so you might be paying for them as well.
Subscription Tracker Inspirations
Of course, like with any type of Bullet Journal page, there are many ways to approach, organize, and decorate this layout, so here are a few more pages.
Beautiful tracker, I really love how minimalist Bullet Journal pages look so classy.
Also, special prompts for adding an auto-pay function to this tracker. I feel like it’s very important since a lot of auto-renewed subscriptions are kind of getting lost among the bills, and that’s why you end up having the subscriptions you forgot you ever had at all.
Great subscription tracker, and I love that it also includes the date each month the payment has to be covered.
Also, I love the use of color. It helps to divide the different subscriptions, but also adds some fun to the page.
Love this tracker and that it has icons for all the subscriptions.
I’m not sure what exactly the left page is, though. Let me know in the comments if you understand that one!
Savings Tracker
One important thing I learned when I started my adult life: you need to have savings. You never know when the universe will decide to mess with you, so it’s better to always be prepared.
A little savings account for a rainy day is a must-have for everyone! My financial consultant (it’s a family member; I don’t think I’m super rich and fancy enough to actually get one) says that a good amount of money to have in your savings is enough for you to live comfortably for 3 months.
Once you have that in your savings account, you can invest the rest of the money and watch those bill signs go up!
But back to reality (I’m nowhere near close to having enough for 3 comfortable months!).
Saving might seem like a very sad and hard thing to do, but it really doesn’t have to be.
Once you look at your expenses, you’ll be able to see what you can cut off or use less of to save a dollar here and there.
You can also develop little habits like putting all your coins away for savings and then going to change them for cash at your local Walmart.
The thing is, savings is like everything else – you shouldn’t just cut off everything at once simply to save money, but you can grind and do little steps every day and eventually get to your savings goal, whatever it is.
You say the first savings tracker had a pretty basic design, but this one is different, and it follows another tip – it makes savings into a fun game, following the path to reach the goal at the end.
I find that gamifying chores and other hard-to-do things in your life is a great push toward actually making them a reality.
Another tip I’ll have for you when it comes to savings is to have an exact goal on what you are saving money for. It is significantly more motivating when you know the exact prize you’ll get at the end.
Savings Tracker Inspirations
Now that I showed you a few of my own savings trackers, here are a few layouts from other creators who have their own approach and savings goals.
Very cool tracker, and I love how the colors play with the kraft paper.
Again, I must say it’s so useful to have different categories for savings; it’s perfect to keep you motivated. Also, it’s clever to have a wish list on the other side – anything to motivate you not to spend money randomly.
I love this tracker not only because it has this classy-looking design, but also because of the way it’s organized.
Every day (or week), you save up just a little bit to see how it eventually accumulates to a larger and more significant number.
Such a fun way to start saving money – by playing games!
The way it works is pretty interesting – you roll the dice, move that many steps, and that’s how much money you’ll have to transfer to your savings account.
Debt Tracker
Being in debt is a reality right now, with mortgages, credit cards, and card payments. This is just the way life is.
You have to be pretty careful with that, though, so you don’t go into too much debt! I know it’s very easy to do since, just like with subscriptions, it sounds like a few extra dollars a month, but it all accumulates!
Plus, you always have to be sure to pay up on time.
So a debt tracker is a very useful spread to have. It can also be motivating as you see how you pay it out, and dollar by dollar, your student loans become smaller and smaller.
Monthly Finances Overview
This can be a cool little page to add to your journal just to see what’s up and stay on track with your expenses.
It doesn’t have a detailed spending tracker, but it gives you a good feel for how your month will go financially.
All you need is a small calendar and to add the dates for your bills and paydays.
I also find it very useful to add the balance at the beginning of the month and the one you have at the end of the month, to see how you’ve been doing.
I love this beautiful spread and how it organically includes all you need to know about your monthly finances.
A cool idea is to use different colors in your calendar to mark paydays and bills. That way, you can clearly see it at a glance.
Beautiful page with an overview of a monthly budget.
It has pretty much all you need to see the outline of your monthly financial situation: bills, income, savings.
No Spend Challenge
This page is more about saving money, and I think that it’s a great way to challenge yourself.
Basically, try not to spend money for as many days as possible.
This will, first of all, help you save a lot. But secondly, it will help you fix your spending habits.
Maybe if you don’t buy Starbucks every day and end up making your coffee at home, you will end up liking it that way and will keep this habit and those dollars.
Free Bullet Journal Printables
Before you leave, I wanted to remind you to get your free printables from the Resources Vault. There are pages like a habit tracker that can help you build better financial habits, together with plenty of other trackers and pages, including a savings tracker!
If you don’t have access yet, you can always sign up in the form below.
Once you confirm your subscription, you’ll get the password to get 50+ free Bullet Journal printables, stickers, and worksheets to use right away.
If you’ve never used printables before, be sure to check my post How To Use Printables In Your Bullet Journal.
It’s pretty basic, and you can find all the supplies you need in my post Supplies For Using Bullet Journal Printables.
If you want to level up your finances even more and faster without any effort, I’ve created a special bundle in my shop of five hand-drawn custom-designed Bullet journal pages that you can start using right away.
More Resources
This post was full of ideas for different pages that can help you bring your finances under control. But there is more, in case you need some more inspiration on how to bring those pages to life in your Bullet Journal.
Check out these posts next:
- Bullet Journal Savings Tracker Ideas
- 11 Bullet Journal Budget Page Ideas
- Bullet Journal Travel Savings Tracker Ideas
>>> How do you track finances? Which pages helped you the most? Share with us in the comments!
Hope this post was useful; if you find it so, please share! If you enjoy my content and want to show your appreciation, please consider supporting me with a cup of coffee.
And remember: Keep Bullet Journaling, and Don’t Be A Blob.
I just found this today and I’m so happy! I am going to piece together some of these plans and hopefully it helps me get out of debt! LOL – well, at least I can be creative!
This is always such a hard task, wish you all the luck! And I’m, loving your positive attitude =)
Great ideas! I’ve been looking for ways to organize my finances and this bullet journal budget tracker seems like the perfect solution. Thanks for sharing, Masha!
Thanks! SO glad to hear you found it useful =)
Great ideas! I’ve been looking for ways to organize my finances and this bullet journal budget tracker seems like the perfect solution. Thanks for sharing, Masha!
Happy to hear these ideas helped!